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Travers Smith LLP has advised Ashby Capital on the sale of its UK retail park portfolio to Realty Income Corporation.

Since our last briefing, there have been several significant tax developments which affect the real estate sector. The new Labour Government's first Budget included welcome confirmation that it will press on with introducing a new form of investment fund (the RIF) that is expected to be particularly attractive for investment in commercial real estate, and proposals for significant reform to the tax treatment of carried interest.

In the seventh episode of this series, Senior Associate Aimee Hutchinson and Associate Claudia French from our Tax team shed light on some possible changes Labour may make to Real Estate taxes ahead of the forthcoming Autumn Budget. They discuss Labour's manifesto pledges, the future of the reserved investor fund and how other anticipated tax changes to CGT and carried interest will impact the real estate sector.  

In this briefing, we focus on four areas of law and practice which have seen interesting recent changes: landlord and tenant; nuisance; real estate development; and protest. Our briefing explores some of the ways in which the real estate sector continues to be impacted by, and to respond to, challenges around energy efficiency; housing rights and safety; water management; environmental protection; and the right to protest.

Travers Smith LLP has acted as lead counsel advising Sixth Street Partners ("Sixth Street"), a leading global investment firm, and Patron Capital ("Patron"), the pan-European institutional investor focused on property investments, on the acquisition of the major UK house builder CALA Group ("Cala") from Legal & General Group plc by Ferguson Bidco Limited, an entity owned by funds managed by Sixth Street and Patron. 

Travers Smith LLP has advised Student Roost on its acquisition of land at Selly Oak, Birmingham from Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital.  

Travers Smith LLP has advised Student Roost on its acquisition of One Medlock, Manchester from Whitbread PLC.

In this briefing we bring you up to date with seven changes in law and practice which we think will have ramifications for the commercial real estate sectors. Parliament has been busy reviewing two key pieces of legislation implementing the Government's residential reform agenda.

Since our last briefing, there have been several significant developments which affect the real estate sector, including amendments to previously announced policies (for example, making "full expensing" permanent) and important international measures coming into effect (such as the "GloBE" rules introducing a global minimum corporate tax rate for large multinational enterprises).

Travers Smith LLP is delighted to announce the promotion of three lawyers to Senior Counsel, effective from 1 January 2024.  

Since the publication of the Government's 2017 white paper "Fixing our broken housing market", there has been much discussion about the Government's plans to reform the housing market especially by means of modernising the leasehold sector. The King's Speech on 7 November 2023 included further announcements about leasehold reform.

After a (relatively) quiet start to 2023 from the perspective of tax developments relating to the real estate sector, the Spring Budget and April's Tax Administration and Maintenance Day (TAAMD) saw the announcement of several important measures and consultations. Several of these relate to real estate funds and stem from the government's ongoing review of the UK fund landscape, such as the publication of a consultation on the possible introduction of a new form of onshore contractual fund.

In this briefing we look at some of the key changes to law and practice that we anticipate taking place in 2023 which will affect the real estate sector, focussing on real estate development, real estate investment, real estate M&A, real estate occupiers, the senior living sector and the private rental sector.

We reported last summer on the Government's 2021 consultation about the design and implementation of the Building Safety Levy (the "Levy"). It is intended to contribute to the costs of anticipated building safety expenditure to ensure that neither the taxpayer nor tenants have to pay for the remediation of safety defects in the existing high-rise housing stock. Since that consultation, the scope of the Levy has expanded to apply to all new residential developments that require building control approval (with a few exceptions). The Building Safety Act 2022 has also been enacted, section 58 of which gives the Secretary of State broad powers to raise a Levy on any in-scope building.

There is plenty going on of interest to those in the real estate sector, both domestically (e.g. the recent “mini-Budget” and Autumn Statement announcements) and internationally (e.g. the signing of a new UK/Luxembourg double tax treaty), and with so many tax developments progressing it can be difficult to stay on top of things. Our briefing provides a checklist of the key tax issues to be aware of (including future developments) and sets out the actions you should be undertaking now in preparation.

We recently hosted a webinar on the UK's new Qualifying Asset Holding Company Regime (QAHC) which will come into effect from April 2022.

We recently hosted a webinar on the UK's new Qualifying Asset Holding Company Regime (QAHC) which will come into effect from April 2022.

It is certainly a busy time for those in the real estate sector with an interest in tax matters. Next month (April) sees the introduction of the residential property developer tax (RPDT), changes to the REIT rules and the introduction of the qualifying asset holding company (QAHC) regime.

We recently hosted a webinar on the UK's new Qualifying Asset Holding Company Regime (QAHC) which will come into effect from April 2022.