Best REIT Investment Accounts (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Compared & Reviewed

What is a REIT?

A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a corporate vehicle that owns and manages rental properties on behalf of shareholders.

This type of investment trust was popularised in the UK about a decade ago due to changes in legislation. Many listed property firms have sought – and converted – into REIT-status. Firms such as Land Securities (LAND), British Land (BLND) and SEGRO (formerly Slough Estates, SGRO) – all of which belong to the growing REITs club. According to the consultancy Deloitte, there are around 170 REITs (listed and private) as of 2024.

To become a REIT is fairly straightforward. Simply, the firm’s rental income must be its major source of profits, and the bulk of this income must be distributed to shareholders (see government’s guidance here). This untaxed cash flow to investors will be treated as property income. It used to be a condition for a REIT that a listing in a recognised exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange, is required. No longer. Institutionally owned property companies can also be converted into REITs.

• Related data: List of UK REITs on the LSE

How to invest in REITs

To invest in REITs you need a stock broker like Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor or AJ Bell. You can use our comparison of what we think are the best accounts for investing in REITs to compare how much it costs to buy and sell REITs, the costs of holding a REIT as an investment and in what type of account you can hold the RIET. As well as also buying REITs in general investment accounts you can also hold them in a wide range of tax efficient investment accounts like stocks and shares ISAs and SIPPs.

• Related Guide: Compare the best investment platforms in the UK here

How does a REIT work?

A UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is just like any other listed company traded on the London Stock Exchange (itself is listed, ticker: LSEG). Any investor can:

• Buy and sell a REIT throughout a trading session;
• Prices of a REIT fluctuate just like any other listed securities depending on supply and demand

The biggest difference between a REIT and other property companies is what they do with the rental income.

Broadly speaking, according to the UK government’s REIT rules (originally under Finance Act 2006), a REIT vehicle must have most of its assets in property and the majority of its rental income must be distributed to shareholders. Specifically, a REIT must

1. distribute 90% of property rental business must be paid to shareholders each year
2. have most of its assets in property rental business

This removes the problem of ‘double taxation’ (tax at a corporate and then on a personal level). Now, REIT investors who received income from them are only taxed once.

Recently, there were some minor amendments to the REITs rules (Finance Bill 2023-24) but these changes have limited impact on general retail investors. You can see the list of HMRC REITs rule here.

REITs 2025 Outlook

For the past two years, REITs have been struggling. Many listed REITs saw a persistent fall in their share prices. The main reason for this bearish outlook was the sharp rise in borrowing costs. This reduces the attractiveness of property as an asset class.

Since property value are heavily linked to interest rates, a few listed REITs saw their share prices trade at a large discount to their Net Asset Values.

The question that investors are asking now is whether the slump is over.

Some are bullish on the property sector. For example, the data centre industry is experiencing consistent growth due to the growth in AI. Demand for space in this niche market is growing annually (see below).

Therefore, companies that are providing this space and services will be doing well. However, there are no data centre pure play in the London Stock Exchange. Tritax Eurobox REIT was partially acquired by Segro last year. Another candidate in this space could be the FTSE 100 REIT LondonMetric (LMP:UK). According to its factsheet, 43 percent of its £6 billion portfolio is in logistics.

So while the whole REITs sector is still in a recovery mode, due to the dip in borrowing costs, some property sectors will bounce back faster.

Source: Segro plc

Why Invest in REITs?

The structure of a Real Estate Investment Trust is tax efficient.

1. REITs offer investors access to a wide portfolio of properties at a corporate level. A REIT save investors the hassle of direct property ownership.
2. Rental income within the REIT are tax-exempt.
3. You can trade major REITs throughout a trading session just like any other stock. Investing £1,000 or £1 million in a REIT will earn a proportional amount of income. Unsurprisingly, many pensions and large investors acquire REITs shares for their yield.

Some REITs have a wide portfolio of commercial and residential properties, assembled by an experienced team and managed professionally on the behalf of shareholders. Due to the nature of UK commercial leases. REITs offer the prospect of a stable income for owners.

Lastly, the ability to trade major REITs throughout a normal trading session like any other stock should not be overlooked. Liquidity is fairly good on a large FTSE REIT. Unlike some property funds, REIT investors are seldom ‘gated’. In 2022, for example, two fund managers gated nearly £8 billion of property funds. Redemptions are suddenly halted in some property funds to prevent a fire sale.

In summary:

Source: London Stock Exchange

Types of Real Estate Investment Trusts

In the UK, most REITs belong to the ‘equity’ type. An equity-REIT may own, among others, offices, shopping complexes, apartments, student accommodation et cetera, to produce the required income for shareholders. The other major type is a mortgage-REIT (see their difference here), which derived its income from mortgage-related activities.

A REIT may specialise in certain property sectors. Within the REIT industry, there are residential, offices, retail, healthcare, logistics, student, and care home subsectors.

For example, Segro (SGRO) concentrates on industrial properties, logistics and warehousing – a sector on the rise due to the popularity of online delivery. Its £20 billion worth of prime property propels it to the largest UK REIT and allows the firm to increase dividends over time.

Unite Group (UTG) is another specialist REIT (conversion in 2017). Its core competency is student accommodation. The firm has achieved excellent progress in the sector with partnerships with universities (60+). Its 2024 half-year rental topped £125 million and fetches a market capitalisation of more than £4 billion (yield =43 percent).

A recent analysis from the investment magazine Investors’ Chronicle below shows a few types of property subsectors where major REITs are investing their resources (see below). UK warehouse is the number one sector, followed by London office. There are a few points to remember about these property sectors:

• Property sector performance vary over time. Some sector may grow faster than others due to a boom in demand (for example, student numbers)
• This will impact REITs’ financial performance and its assets valuation
• All these factors will, in turn, affect a REIT’s share price

Source: Investors’ Chronicle (2024)

How to Profit from REITs?

Investors can benefit from REITs in two distinct ways.

The first is through share price appreciation. Recall that REITs trade like stocks. Their prices can go up and down significantly. If you, for example, bought British Land for 350p in 2020. A year later, the same share fetched 500p. You pocketed a capital gain of about 42 percent (excluding dividends).

Secondly, REIT shareholders benefit from a rise in rental income. This means higher income distribution via dividends.

In practice, REITs are not a one-way street for investors. Companies that pay the rent can – and do – go bust. For example, since 2018 some retail REITs had been slammed by a ‘perfect retail storm’: Covid, a surge in web shopping and work-from-home. This led to a persistent drop in rental income from some REITs property portfolios. As a result, dividends are slashed. A casualty of this retail downturn during Covid was Hammerson.

What to Look For in UK REITs?

Before you invest in any REITs, you need to know a few things specific about them. Not all REITs are equal. Some have more attractive properties and better financial stability.

1. What are their properties? The ability to generate rental income is dependent on the quality of property assets, tenant mix, and the sector demand.
2. What is the geographical tilt of the REIT?
3. Is the REIT trading at a premium or discount to their property value (called Net Asset Value)?
4. Is the REIT profitable?
5. What is the REIT’s current dividend yield?

Some REITs are only operating in a niche sector or area. Shaftesbury Capital (SHC), for instance, is a REIT focussed mainly in London West End (see below). Some concentrate on Healthcare; others on industrial. Target Healthcare REIT (THRL) is a REIT that focuses on care homes.

Note, too, REITs can actively change its property mix over time through acquisition and disposal.

How to choose which UK REITs to buy?

Once you have done some basic research about REITs, you should then stick with these principles:

• Check property portfolio and the discount/premium to Net Asset Value. Is the discount reasonable?
• Ride with long-term uptrends
• Include stops in all your dealings.

Since you can’t buy every single REIT for your portfolio (unless you use a fund), you have to choose. And you choose according to some favourable yardsticks.

For example, invest in the property sector/area that you know best. Then, choose REITs with prices that are performing the best. If, for example, you buy a REIT that is falling consistently to new 52-week lows, it tells you firmly that the market is bearish on the security. Avoid – unless you know more than what the market is pricing in.

Once you have narrowed down a list of REITs, look at their long-term trends. Buy the ones that are doing well, or have seen a change in their long-term trends. For example, I use the 200-day moving average as a simple yardstick to tell me their long-term trends.  If a REIT’s trend is bullish, prices should trade above this trend line. In investing, timing is an important factor. Be consistent with these filters.

Point three is equally important: Property is cyclical. Property prices go up a lot and then correct. The fortune of REITs is cyclical: Boom and bust is a recurring feature of the property market.  Using stops to protect yourself is thus immensely helpful. Investing without stop losses is like driving without seat belts.

As a general rule of thumb, REITs must only be part of one’s diversified portfolio. Buying REITs after a cyclical downturn has better risk-reward ratios since many property funds are trading at a substantial discount to their net asset values.

Of course, you may object to the use of price performance as a yardstick. Many prefer Buffett’s: Cheaper the better. Dividends, especially among REITs, are equally important. These days, a few of them are yielding five percent and above. I have no problem with all these arguments. Many investors are extremely knowledgeable about the REITs sector and would be in a position to spot good deals.

The issue is relative cost. Many of these high-yielding REITs saw substantial share price declines since 2020. Compare their performances against that of the US stock market. The difference in returns is too large to ignore.

REIT ETF: iShares UK REIT (IUKP)

If you are not an expert in the REIT sector and still want to gain exposure to the industry, perhaps buying a diversified ETF is a better choice.

In the UK, the largest ETF that invest in REITs is the iShares UK REIT (IUKP).  Its benchmark index is the FTSE NAREIT UK Index and the fund has a decent £550 million assets under management in January 2025 (see factsheet here). The portfolio contains 39 REITs, which is diversified enough for any investor. The ETF’s top three holdings are: Segro (19 percent weighting), Land Securities (8.7 percent) and British Land (7.1 percent).

Technically, the ETF is trying to find a floor above 400p right now. The instrument had tested this support a few times. But did not clear the level sufficiently. Adverse UK macro conditions are holding the sector back.

But should UK’s economic outlook improve, a rally from here is possible. But like before, it is a bit premature to say if this will happen anytime soon.

(Alternatively, you may want to look at iShares Global REIT (REET:US))