‘If you have £20 million, you can buy a building or two,’ says Dermot Mahony. ‘If they’re small ones, you might even be able to buy three or four.’ But, the head of real estate at Smith & Williamson adds that investing in property isn’t that simple. ‘Unless you have expertise in the sector, the asset class, the location, then you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.’
For many of the firm’s clients, an indirect route to real estate exposure is a more attractive option. Real estate investment trusts have existed in the US since the Sixties but are newer in the UK, having been introduced in 2007. Mahony and his team create solutions that are tailored to individual clients.