Why do I own shares instead of the property itself?

When you invest through UOWN, you technically own shares in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company that owns the property, rather than directly owning the bricks and mortar. This structure is very common in crowdfunding and it has some important advantages:

• Limited liability: The SPV is a limited company. Your risk is limited to the money you invested – you're not personally liable for anything the company does. If something went wrong with the project, creditors can't come after you beyond your share capital.

• Ease of management: The SPV (managed by UOWN or the developer) can enter contracts, receive rental income, pay taxes, etc., on behalf of all investors. It streamlines operations compared to trying to manage hundreds of individual owners.

• Regulatory simplicity: It avoids creating a collective investment scheme or other regulatory headaches. Each investor holds shares, and the SPV's single asset is the property.

• Nominee structure: In many cases, UOWN (or a nominee entity) might hold the legal title of the property on behalf of the SPV/investors, again to simplify paperwork. That's why your name isn't on the Land Registry for the property – the SPV or nominee's name is. Don't worry, you still beneficially own your portion through your shares.

So, you own a piece of a company, and that company owns the property. It's one step removed, but it's done to protect you and make administration feasible. If you're curious: typically the SPV is a UK limited company created solely for that project. If you invest, say, 5% of the total funds, you'll hold 5% of the shares of that company.