Corporate/fund investors making a significant investment in PRS to support the government housing agenda, such as Sigma, will be exempt from the new stamp duty surcharge on Buy to Let/second homes to be introduced next year. The surcharge will add an extra 3% to the existing levy on residential house purchases. The announcement came in yesterday’s Autumn Statement and follows the measures introduced in the Budget earlier this year controlling Buy to Let investment by individuals at the expense of aspirational owner-occupiers. We believe that this will result in reduced Buy to Let investment by individuals which will professionalise the PRS housing space in the UK and also increase the onus on Sigma and others, such as Grainger, to develop PRS housing supply.