The FTSE 100 said it would pay the one-off entry charge of about$83 million, or 2% of its eligible UK property assets. A statementby chairman John Nelson to the Annual General Meeting said: "Asmany of you will know, the UK government has introduced into thisyear's Finance Bill proposals for real estate investment trusts.The board of Hammerson has decided that, if the bill is enactedsubstantially in its current form, the company will elect for REITstatus to take effect at the beginning of 2007."

Industrial property specialist Brixton and shopping centerspecialist Liberty International PLC have also indicated they arelikely to adopt a REIT for their business but have not yet saidwhen. A briefing note by JPMorgan said they expect Slough Estates,British Land and Land Securities to follow suit. What makesHammerson different, though, is that the company has alreadyadopted a REIT structure for its French property developmentbusiness.

In the finance bill presented on March 22, the government saidcompanies that adopt REIT status in the UK will be required to payout at least 90% of their tax-exempt income as dividends toshareholders. The proposed legislation now before Parliament allowscompanies to spread the entry charge over four years ininstallments of 0.5%, 0.53%, 0.56% and 0.6%. It also includes lessrestrictive requirements on gearing than originally suggested.