A recent report commissioned by the British Property Federation (BPF) has revealed that commercial real estate is worth £1,662bn and represents 20.6% of the total net wealth in the UK.
In 2014, commercial real estate contributed £94.2bn to the UK’s GDP and on average employed 2.1 million people between 2002 and 2014 thanks to the construction work.
With the findings, BPF have called out the Government to take notice in how commercial real estate creates the essence of towns and cities, and work alongside it to ensure fair and appropriate regulation and taxation.
Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, Melanie Leech, commented: “Given the substantial contribution CRE makes to the economy, to jobs, to regenerating our towns and cities, as well as the security it provides us through pension investment, it is in any Government’s interest to promote investment in this sector through appropriate regulation, support and fair taxation.”
Dr Savvas Savouri, Chief Economist at Toscafund Asset Management and author of the report, added: “The call for more equitable taxation of property simply asks that burden should be proportionate to ability to pay; a timely income based approach replacing an extremely slow to adjust and anachronistic value based one.”
The report highlights the importance of the sector and what it brings to lives and businesses.
Chris Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Hermes Real Estate and President of BPF, concluded that “It is important for the Government to understand that our industry acts as a pivotal conduit for sustainable growth, implementing regeneration and contributing towards a more balanced and productive economy.”
