Part of: Property investment

Property investment for company directors

Property remains one of the most popular investment choices for UK company directors - but the structure you use to hold and finance that property makes a significant difference to how much of the return you actually keep.

Reviewed July 2026 · 4 minute read

TLPI works with company directors who want to build a property portfolio, buy business premises, or release capital from their pension to fund property - all in a way that is tax-efficient and legally structured.

Invest in property through a SSAS pension

A Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) pension can purchase commercial property directly - including the premises your business occupies. Property held inside the pension grows free of Capital Gains Tax, and any rental income the pension receives is free of Income Tax. When your business pays rent to the SSAS, that rent is a deductible business expense and is simultaneously building your pension fund.

This is one of the most powerful and overlooked tax planning strategies available to UK company directors.

Find out how a SSAS can invest in property
Commercial property and SSAS

Use your pension to fund property - the loanback

A SSAS can lend up to 50% of its net asset value back to the sponsoring company. Directors use this facility to fund property acquisitions, development projects, or refurbishment - with the loan repaid at a commercial interest rate. The interest payments return directly to the pension, compounding the fund rather than going to a bank.

How a pension loanback works

Tax-efficient property investment for directors

For directors who want to invest in property outside a pension environment, there are a number of business structures - including Family Investment Companies (FICs) and holding company arrangements - that can reduce the tax burden on property income, capital growth, and eventual succession.

Tax-efficient property investment for directors
Setting up a property investment company

Residential property and SSAS - what you need to know

A SSAS cannot purchase residential property directly for investment purposes - HMRC rules prohibit it and the tax charges for doing so are severe. However, there are legitimate ways to access residential property returns within a pension context, and TLPI can explain the boundaries clearly so directors do not inadvertently trigger a tax charge.

SSAS and residential property

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Talk to TLPI about your property investment plans

TLPI has been helping company directors invest in property tax-efficiently since 2004. Whether you are at the planning stage, already have a SSAS, or want to understand which structure suits your circumstances, we offer a no-obligation consultation.