April 2010 edition

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In recent years the number of different types of fund vehicle available to, and chosen by, sponsors and managers of real estate funds has proliferated, to a sometimes bewildering extent.

Fund managers also increasingly face heavy pressures to control and minimise the regulatory and other operating costs of setting up and running fund structures, in a world that continues to look to impose regulation on all types of funds and their managers. Moreover, investors are increasingly sensitive towards incurring any significant tax leakages, and in particular tend more often to press sponsors to offer fund vehicles that best match the investors’ specific tax attributes.

PricewaterhouseCoopers European Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) tax group is a well-established informal network of our senior tax advisers who specialise in real estate fund structuring work. The REIM group has collaborated to prepare this booklet at a time when – as the real estate market picks itself up off the canvas after the heavy blows of the financial crisis – thoughts are turning once again to the launch of new real estate funds tailored to the changed environment of the 2010 decade.

This booklet seeks to compare more than 20 different types of fund vehicle in a summary form, by looking at a consistent set of key topics, and noting major pros and cons. We hope that you will find it a useful starting point, and a source of reference.

The members of our REIM group listed as country specialists in the booklet will be very happy to help you, by providing further information on any of the fund vehicles described.