UK introduces new windfall tax and plans to legislate Solvency II reforms

Taken from an article published in IPE Real Assets on 17 November 2022, here: UK introduces new windfall tax and plans to legislate Solvency II reforms | News | Real Assets (ipe.com)

The UK real estate investment industry has also been pushing for reforms to include changes to the way the volatility and risk of real estate are calculated.

The British Property Federation (BPF), Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) and the Investment Property Forum (IPF) submitted a joint response to the government’s consultation, arguing that their proposals would unlock more institutional capital to support its ‘levelling-up’ and net-zero objectives. 

The government also said it would continue to invest in the country’s infrastructure and proceed with a second round of its ‘levelling-up fund’, at least “matching the £1.7bn value” of round one.

Roger Clarke, the CEO of real estate stock exchange IPSX, said: “It is absolutely right that the government should continue to prioritise improving Britain’s infrastructure, transport and quality of housing by levelling up the imbalance between London and the regions, and a recommitment to allocating £1.7bn to priority local infrastructure projects via the government’s levelling-up fund is welcome.

“But public investment is only one piece of the puzzle; the private sector, and particularly the real estate industry, has an equally important role to play in supporting the regions’ growth by creating more opportunities for local development and regeneration.”