The UK’s only residential property stock exchange has been forced to close after failing to raise sufficient funds to meet European financial regulations. Financial Times
The Property Investment Market was an innovative attempt to encourage widespread residential investment in the UK. It would find and then list residential properties on its online exchange, in which investors could buy shares for as little as £1.
The company blamed problems in the financial markets for the failure to find enough money to comply with the Financial Services Authority’s requirements of a multilateral trading facility under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.
The Property Investment Market has been suspended since November while it tried to raise the money, but it has now decided to close the business. It is thought that there are between 500 and 750 investors in the exchange.