Research and Briefings

We and other stakeholders have consistently called for reductions in business rates – and yet there is very limited existing research which considers the wider economic consequences of maintaining high levels of business rates – or indeed, the benefits of a reduction in business rates. Given the UK imposes a very high level of tax on property, over double the OECD average, this research seeks to better understand and quantify the implications of increases or decreases to the business rates burden on our wider economy.

The Government’s ambitious target of 1.5 million homes over the next five years is essential in the UK’s constrained housing market, with a stark undersupply of social, affordable, market-for-sale and privately rented homes.

Achieving this goal in the current fiscally constrained environment will necessitate exploring alternative sources of funding beyond traditional Government and private funding mechanisms.

In this paper we detail the opportunities available using institutional capital and our four key policy pillars to deliver the change required.

The UK property industry is worth around £110 billion to the economy, roughly 5% of UK GVA and supporting 1 in 13 jobs. It is a foundational sector underpinning all other economic activity that relies on the built environment to function.

It is also a sector that is very open to global capital investment. That is why the BPF has partnered with CoStar to produce 'Who Invests in UK Property', which is the first of an annual series that will track trends in overseas investment into UK property. This will demonstrate the scale of such investment, as well as give indications as to who is investing and where that capital is going, both in terms of geography and asset type.

Through this report, we intend to inform policy-making so that it can understand and better support such investment into the UK, further growing the economy and helping achieve policy ambitions to build more homes, create more jobs and
regenerate town centres.

Our latest research examines the energy efficiency of commercial buildings across seven major UK cities. It highlights that 83% of buildings fall below the EPC B rating required to meet proposed 2030 regulations, emphasising the significant challenge of retrofitting properties and the lack of government clarity on energy efficiency standards.

In collaboration with Savills, the BPF is pleased to present the UK Build-to-Rent Q4 2024 report. This report highlights quarterly growth patterns and trends over the past decade, offering valuable insights into the current state of the property sector.

On 17 December 2024, the Government published its response to the latest annual progress report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). This note provides a short summary of the response, highlighting issues of most interest to BPF members and the wider the real estate sector.

Following the UK Autumn Budget 2024, our analysis examines the key impacts of the Chancellor's statement on the property sector. Our analysis focuses on seven key themes, including:

• Tax and finance
• Housing
• Planning
• Life sciences
• Healthcare
• Regeneration and devolution 
• Net zero and clean energy

In partnership with Savills, the BPF are pleased to publish the UK Build-to-Rent Q3 2024 report. The report presents the quarterly growth patterns and trends over the last 10 years, and demonstrates the position the property sector is in.

Following our Building Our Future campaign, our BPF Autumn Budget representation outlines how the UK property sector can work with the Government to make a significant contribution to national growth by building more homes, employment spaces, and critical infrastructure, revitalising town centres, decarbonising buildings, and embracing PropTech and data.

Building healthy futures: Strengthening our healthcare estates is the BPF’s primary and secondary care policy document, setting out the importance of estates to our healthcare system, and how we can use estates to deliver the NHS’ vision. In it, we call on the Government to work with industry to explore how private capital can be deployed to alleviate public funding pressures and deliver on NHS ambitions.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) have published their latest annual assessment of the Government’s progress in cutting emissions. This assessment looks at progress across all sectors of the economy, including the buildings sector. The report notes the substantial progress that has been made – in large part by the phasing out of coal and the ramping up of renewables – but concludes that urgent action is needed if the UK is to hit its 2030 target of cutting emissions by 68% compared to 1990. This briefing provides a short summary of the CCC report for BPF members.

Forty Government Bills were announced in the King’s Speech. This briefing summarises and responds to those relevant or potentially relevant to the property industry (ten Bills in total).