As investors are all too aware, equities have been producing poor, or even negative, returns for some time. In contrast, returns from property investment have been relatively stable, hovering consistently around the 10% mark. According to the IPD Index for March 2003, incorporating a recent Barclays Capital Equity & Gilts Study, property has outperformed equities, not only in the short term, but also for a 10-year period. Perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore, property has become increasingly popular with investors.
However, a commercial property is a major investment. Investors may not have the resources to purchase an entire property and those who do may not be inclined to put all of their eggs in a single property basket. Consequently, small groups of investors will often decide to club together to make a property investment. With the advent of the limited liability partnership (LLP) in April 2001, a vehicle has been created which is ideally, albeit unintentionally, suited to the needs of such investors.
