UK Commercial Property Trust


UK Commercial Property Trust is a large British investment trust dedicated to investments in UK commercial properties. Established in 2006, the company is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The chairman is Andrew Wilson. It invests in shopping centres, shops, office buildings and industrial estates and warehousing/distribution centres.

History

UKCPT was established in 2006 in Guernsey, prior to the introduction of REIT legislation in 2007, which made on-shore property investment companies more tax-efficient. It acquired its initial portfolio of properties from Phoenix & London Assurance/Phoenix Life & Pensions Limited in 2007 for £503.6m; the portfolio was then yielding under 5%.
Having launched near the top of the market, following the market downturn in 2007–2008, a merger with F&C Commercial Property Trust, a fellow FTSE 250 property company was proposed in 2010. This was narrowly rejected by 50.07% of shareholders.