Investors Still Waiting In Vain For Labour Reforms

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Investors have been left frustrated waiting for Labour’s planning reforms and incentives to actually kick in. However, the majority still plan to allocate funds to get Britain building.

In nearly 14 months of Labour leadership following the 5 July 2024 election win, the biggest failures according to investors are a lack of incentives for themselves and developers and an ineffective planning reform.

Their top priorities, according to a recent ASK Partners survey is planning reform, tax incentives and attracting international capital.

Most investors are eying up commercial property, with data centres attracting some big names wanting to build in the UK; and warehousing & logistics. Residential property enthusiasm is in developing later-life housing.

Pledges not being honoured

In its manifesto, the government pledged to build 1.5 million new homes within five years, with proposals to relax planning rules, identify new sites for development, including parts of the green belt reclassified as ‘grey belt’ land and speed up planning approvals. Additionally, there is a commitment to increase affordable and social housing within new developments.

However, despite these pledges, ASK’s research shows the biggest challenges facing the UK real estate sector over the next 12 months STILL remain planning system delays, political uncertainty, and fiscal unpredictability. In order to support and grow the UK real estate market.

Despite concerns the majority (51%) of survey respondents plan to increase their allocation to real estate over the next year.

Daniel Austin, the CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners, says: “After over a year under the new government, investors remain frustrated by the lack of meaningful planning reform and the limited incentives available to drive development. Our research shows that planning delays, political uncertainty, and fiscal unpredictability continue to act as major barriers – despite manifesto pledges to accelerate housebuilding. Nevertheless, over half of investors plan to increase their real estate allocations over the next 12 months, signalling confidence in the sector’s underlying fundamentals.

“Unsurprisingly, given the rapid global digitisation and growth of AI, data centres are expected to offer the greatest investment opportunity of all asset classes. Warehousing and logistics and later-living housing also stood out as particularly attractive prospects along with build-to-rent, co-living and student accommodation.

“To truly unlock the potential of the UK property market, investors want to see planning reform prioritised, alongside tax incentives for developers and policies that attract international capital. Delivering on these fronts would help accelerate development, tackle the housing crisis, and ensure real estate continues to drive economic growth rather than hold it back.”

Picture: Property investors are is still keen to see labour unlock planning reforms to build 1.5 million homes.

www.askpartners.co.uk

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
21st August 2025

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