Property companies are expected to be the main beneficiaries ofProperty Investment Trusts, the UK government's name for REITs. TheFTSE 350 real-estate index made early gains immediately after theannouncement on Thursday.

The details outlined in the full pre-budget paper were seen bythe property industry as a reassuring sign that the government isstill interested in the concept of PIFs. "This shows they reallyare committed to this and are keen to engage with the industry,"says John Gellatly, Credit Suisse First Boston's director ofreal-estate investment banking. "Anyone who had expected a detailedpiece of legislation on this was fooling themselves."

Even so, many in the industry were disappointed the governmentwasn't able to set a timetable for the introduction of PIFs. "We'regrateful that the government is still consulting on this issue,"says Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation."But this does suggest that it's a fairly lengthy process. We wouldobviously rather that it was quicker than it is."