Dear All
This is the last Newsletter of 2021 and you are all busy getting transactions done before the year-end, so I’m not going to write a long piece.
The first thing that I want to do is to thank members for their support this year, whether that is formally working on Committees, Working Groups and Taskforces or simply providing informal feedback and advice as friends and colleagues. Thank you.
Secondly, I’d like to acknowledge the dedication of the team, both to the membership and to each other. Clare, Ed, Eve, Jacqui and Mel have worked tremendously hard in a year which has seen a record number of consultations from UK and international bodies, the outcomes of which are likely to be fundamental to our industry for years to come. They’ve also shown tremendous support of each other and of me in the face of lockdowns, homeschooling, illness and other personal challenges. Thank you too.
I’d just like to flag up briefly what I think will be the themes for next year:
- CVAs. We will be continuing to work alongside other industry bodies to address the misuse of CVAs and their effect in reducing the attraction of UK real estate to both domestic and international investors.
- 2022 will be the year when the rubber really hits the road as far as scrutiny of our environmental and climate-related performance is concerned. We are engaged, again alongside fellow industry bodies, with UK and international regulators to make sure that the measures put in place are workable and appropriate for real estate and do not erect unfair and unintended barriers to entry.
- Following member roundtables this year, MSCI will be coming forward with proposed enhancements to the UK Property Funds Index and the data collection process. Much of this will also cover climate risk and performance.
- The findings of the RICS Independent Review of Real Estate Investment Valuations is soon to be published. Again, the place of climate risk in the valuation “forward look” is likely to be a prominent theme.
- The delayed review of the 1954 Landlord & Tenant Act looks likely to start next year.
- The issue of notice periods for daily-traded retail funds remains unresolved by the FCA, as does the ability of the ecosystem of platforms, custodians, transfer agents, etc. to handle longer notice periods.
It will be another challenging year but there will be some worthwhile things to be achieved.
Despite the challenges this year, I’m left feeling grateful for colleagues and friends and the things we have achieved. It just remains for me to wish everybody a restful holiday and I look forward to seeing everybody next year, preferably not just on a screen.
Best wishes
Paul
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