Epra mulls setting up second EU REIT lobby group

The European Public Real Estate Association (Epra) is poised to establish a separate group to lobby for an EU-wide version of the tax-transparent real estate investment trust (REIT) rather than join the existing EU REIT Coalition which is spearheaded by the European Property Federation (EPF) in Brussels.

Epra CEO Philip Charls told PropertyEU TV at MIPIM in Cannes that it was now very likely that a second EU REIT lobby group will be formed to represent the interests of listed real estate companies operating in European markets where REITs or REIT-like structures already exist. 'Epra represents about 85% of the market and the market is mainly active in existing REIT countries. So Epra's job is really to protect and look after the interests of those members.'

Charls said there was a difference of opinion on how to handle the campaign for an EU REIT between the existing REIT countries and the countries where there are no REITs at present.

The Epra boss said this second group amounted to about 10% of the market and its interests seemed not to be in line with the interests of Epra's members. He stressed that Epra has the support of 'all the major players' in the European real estate market, particularly 'the people with the knowhow to work in a structured way to build an EU REIT'.

The EU REIT Coalition was formerly launched at the Barcelona Meeting Point event last November under the chairmanship of Joaquim Ribeiro, finance director at Portuguese shopping centre specialist Sonae Sierra.

The foundation of the lobby group came a year after EPF director general Michael MacBrien and Ribeiro took part in a panel discussion organised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on the subject at the Barcelona property fair. The coalition is backed by the EPF, RICS, the European Landowners Organisation and the European Group of Valuers' Associations.

Attempts have been ongoing to get Epra to join the coalition. But impromptu talks between MacBrien and Charls during the coffee break at a REIT conference in Brussels in late February failed to resolve the differences between their groups.

Contacted by PropertyEU on Monday, MacBrien said the issue came down to personalities rather than an issue of substance. ‘It is not a human tragedy if there are two different points of view. My hope would be that the two groups can work in a spirit of friendly disputation.’

The coalition’s argument for an EU REIT is based on recommendations stemming from research carried out by a team led by Piet Eichholtz, professor of Real Estate Finance at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

MacBrien said the report did not champion the idea of imposing a single regime on all European countries but rather a flexible model that supplemented the existing REITs. 'The concept of the EU REIT is that real estate companies based in one country should be able to benefit from the REIT regime in another country without having to set up a separate REIT in that country,' he said.

CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP CHARLS