What are the options I have, when purchasing property through the UK Property Specialist?
Our investors can either purchase the property in their personal capacity (within the UK) or via an offshore structure where their investment is pooled with fellow investors in order to provide investors with more buying power at auction.

What form of organization are you and what organization would I invest in?
The UK Property Specialist is a Ltd company based within the UK. The majority of our investors invest through a company incorporated in Guernsey that is not subject to capital gains tax (CGT) as its place of effective management is outside the UK.

If I invest through your offshore structure, what are the articles of incorporation?
Our shareholders agreement is signed by all shareholders when share are issued and we are happy to send this out for any potential investor to read.

What is the capital structure?
The capital is issued as a nominal share amount and a proportionate shareholders loan amount. In keeping the share capital amount down the stamp duty and fees related to the shares are kept to a minimum.

What is the purpose of investing through your offshore structure as opposed to in my personal capacity?
The purpose of the fund is to generate returns through residential property development - the amount of equity available dictates how many properties we can work on simultaneously which ultimately affects the returns the investor will achieve. The cycle of equity is a lot slower if you’re limited to working on a single property at a time and relying on remortgaging to release equity.

What arrangement will be made for redemption of shares/funds?
Option to sell out to the fund will be given to shareholders at the completion of each major investment project within the structure.

What reporting arrangements will be made to investors?
We pride ourselves on being intimate and fully transparent with all investors. Forecasts are produced at the beginning of the project and reports are produced at the end of projects. No formal period of reporting is set. Constant updates are communicated through constant discussions/emails with the investors.

What are your investment criteria?
London is extremely space limited, so we generally aim to purchase property with development potential – the end result being a larger living area within the property. Adding square feet to properties is the key to ensuring significant returns are achieved. Secondly, we aim to purchase properties that are in need of modernization. A combination of both these factors is the ultimate aim.

What rights do the shareholders within the offshore structure have to remove management?
Management are seen as an integral part of the investment process and 1 cannot survive without the other. Investors may sell out of the investment process at the end of a particular development.

How are decisions made?
Decisions are made jointly between the two Directors within the UK Property Specialist. If either manager is not happy with the investment, it’s potential or the forecasts - then the project is not undertaken. We have several architects and planning consultants that we work in conjunction with when putting together the due diligence for a specific site.

What other businesses do you operate?
UKPS Management Ltd is a property management company that essentially manages the investment property for our investors – ensuring peace of mind throughout the entire investment process. We also run UKPS Refurbishment Ltd, which performs any refurbishment and/or maintenance work on all the investment properties as well as any private refurbishment work.

Who owns this business?
The business is owned and run by it’s original founders – Shaun Counihan and Richard Watt. Both founders grew up in South Africa and have collectively been based in the UK for almost 20 years.

What is the intended life of my investment?
The life of each investors investment is dependent on which structure is invested on. Within the offshore structure – it’s on a project by project basis on a weighting structure. We would like to see the investment continuing as long as we can generate returns. If you opt to invest in your personal capacity, then the life of your investment is purely up to you. Once the refurbishment of the property is complete, the investor can opt to liquidate and sell on the property or opt for the more popular approach of tenanting the property and putting it onto a mortgage based in it’s revised market value.

What is the range of expected returns?