UK Commercial Property Trust was established in 2006 in Guernsey, prior to the introduction of
REIT legislation in 2007, which made on-shore property investment companies more tax-efficient. It acquired its initial portfolio of properties from Phoenix & London Assurance/Phoenix Life & Pensions Limited in 2007 for £503.6m; the portfolio was then yielding under 5%. Having launched near the top of the market, following the market downturn in 2007–2008, a merger with
F&C Commercial Property Trust, a fellow FTSE 250 property company was proposed in 2010. This was narrowly rejected by 50.07% of shareholders. The company changed its name from UK Commercial Property Trust to UK Commercial Property REIT in 2022. In February 2024, the company announced it had reached a merger agreement with
Tritax Big Box REIT. It was reported that the combined business was likely be included in the
FTSE 100 Index with a valuation of £4 billion. allowing it to proceed to completion. ==References==