Vehicles and funds

Choosing the vehicle

No vehicle is better than another in the abstract; there is one that suits each transaction. How many investors there will be, whether they invest in one asset or several, how long the money will be committed, whether someone will manage on behalf of the others and how the investment is to be taxed: the structure follows from those answers.

Club deals

In a club deal, a small group of investors joins forces for a specific transaction, usually through a company set up for it. It is simple to put together, but it needs a well-drafted investors' agreement: who decides, how further funds are contributed, what information each investor receives and how to exit. If someone professionally manages the others' money, it is worth checking from the outset whether the activity falls within the rules on collective investment.

Venture capital

Spanish Law 22/2014 regulates venture capital entities, which may be companies or funds, and their management companies, all supervised by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). It is the usual framework for investing professionally in unlisted companies, with registration, reporting and governance requirements that need to be built in from the design stage.

SOCIMI

SOCIMIs, regulated by Law 11/2009, are companies whose main business is letting urban property. If they meet their requirements (among them a minimum share capital of five million euros, listed shares and distributing a large part of their profits as dividends), they benefit from a special tax regime.