Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Unit trust definition

What does Unit trust mean? A unit trust is a pooled investment fund set up as a trust to hold assets for multiple investors, who participate as unit‑holders. In practice it is an open‑ended collective investment scheme: investors buy and redeem units, and each unit represents a proportionate beneficial interest in the trust fund. Unit prices (NAV) move directly with the value of the underlying assets. Key features include separation of roles: a trustee/custodian holds legal title and safeguards the fund, while a manager makes investment decisions under the trust deed and applicable regulations. The structure enables investors to gain diversified exposure with...

Jersey Property Unit Trusts (JPUTs) holding UK real estate: SDLT, SDRT, stamp duty and VAT (including surcharges, market value rules, reliefs and TOGC)

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Practice notes

Jersey Property Unit Trusts (JPUTs)

Many investors, notably those not resident in the UK, hold UK real estate investments through offshore unauthorised property unit trusts. These trusts are frequently formed in the Channel Islands (commonly Jersey or Guernsey) or the Isle of Man, though they can also be constituted under the laws of other non-UK jurisdictions. For the purposes of this Practice Note, such property unit trusts, wherever set up, are referred to as Jersey Property Unit Trusts (JPUTs), given the prevalence of Jersey structures. JPUTs gained traction historically because UK real estate could be transferred into a JPUT without triggering stamp duty land tax (SDLT). This relied on a specific exemption called ‘seeding relief’, which was abolished from 22 March 2006. Section 133 of the Finance Act 2016 introduced a different form of seeding relief, but it is restricted to authorised contractual schemes and property authorised investment funds, and does not apply to JPUTs. Owing to that historic relief, coupled with the continuing ability to transfer units in a JPUT that holds UK real estate without incurring stamp duty, SDLT or stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT), a significant number of UK properties are still held via JPUTs...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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