Proposed restrictions put UK Reit market under threat

Groups will be unable to hold their own UK Reits within discretionary portfolios or fund of funds under current Government proposals. Deputy director-general of the AITC Ian Sayers believes the proposed restriction that no shareholder can take more than a 10% controlling interest in a UK Reit will mean groups will need to rule out any in-house investment to avoid a compliance nightmare. "For global operations such as Fidelity for example, it will be nigh-on impossible to prove there is not one of the group's pension schemes somewhere in the world with a shareholding in the trust, as the c...