Property investment needn’t just mean buy-to-let or overseas properties and canny investors are discovering new opportunities to make money from the property market can include land, leisure businesses and even hotel rooms.

Next weekend’s Homebuyer Show, to be held in London’s ExCel Centre will give space for a number of commercial investment exhibitors who are keen to show how attractive some of these alternative investment opportunities are.

Commercial investment has always been regarded as the remit for professional investors, but the flood of opportunities coming on to the market has opened the gates to the novice investor. Commercial investment does not have to be on a large scale and investors interested in diversifying their portfolio can see returns in the form of rental yields and capital gains with a variety of options to consider.

GuestInvest is the company behind the UK’s first buy-to-let hotel scheme. Investors buy their own fully-maintained room, stay there for up to 52 nights a year for free, and receive 50% of the room’s income which is let out by the hotel on their behalf throughout the year.

GuestInvest’s latest scheme is called Nest, and will be showcasing at The Homebuyer Show. Rooms are available from £175,000 and targeted primarily at the business traveller.

Johnny Sandelson, CEO and founder of GuestInvest said, "We are effectively creating a brand new asset. Nest offers a fantastic opportunity to invest in a secure, strong-performing, hassle- and maintenance-free asset, with returns rising significantly according to occupancy rates, room rates and nights spent by room owners."

Webbers Commercial, also exhibiting at The Homebuyer Show, is a specialist department of Webbers Estate Agents and specialises in the sale of leisure businesses throughout Devon, Cornwall and Somerset including holiday cottage complexes, country house hotels and general businesses.

Lifton Hall Hotel is a Grade II listed Country House Hotel with 10 en-suite bedrooms, a bar and restaurant and a 4-bedroom owners' cottage priced at £795,000.  This business generates an income in excess of £125,000 per annum.

Nick Clark, managing director of The Homebuyer Show comments: "Commercial property offers an opportunity that many investors wouldn’t initially consider, but it can provide good rental yields, high capital growth and enables the investor to build up a diverse portfolio."

"People are cottoning on to the potential, and following the SIPPs u-turn, it is now only commercial property that can be included in a SIPP, making it even more appealing not only to investors but to anyone looking to secure their future wealth."

The Homebuyer Show will be held on Friday 17 March (10am to 6pm), Saturday 18 March (10am to 5pm) and Sunday 19 March (10am to 4pm) at the ExCeL Centre in London’s Docklands, easily reachable by car or public transport. Entry to the Show will be free but with an additional admission charge for seminars and debates. For further information on the Show including advance booking for tickets and seminars, visit www.homebuyer.co.uk.