Law firms back research into property investment industry

The Investment Property Forum (IPF) and the Investment Property Forum Educational Trust have launched the first independent research programme for the UK property investment industry.
The programme has been funded by 16 organisations, including Lovells, Nabarro Nathanson, and SJ Berwin.
The three-year Joint Research Programme is the product of a joint-venture initiative between the IPF and the IPF Educational Trust. It will deliver a series of reports into the public arena in support of the IPF's wider goals of enhancing the knowledge, understanding and efficiency of property as an investment class.
It is hoped that the result of the research will enable the whole industry to engage with other financial markets, the wider business community and the Government on a range of issues.
The first project will investigate possible methods of measuring liquidity in direct property and begin to explain the liquidity of UK property by marshalling the available evidence on turnover.
Other funders include such property heavyweights as PruPIM, Morley, Scottish Widows, Quintain, Capital & Regional and Land Securities.
"Acting as we do for many of the major property companies and institutions, we regularly support research projects that seek to improve the knowledge and understanding of property as an asset," said head of property at Nabarros David Wright.