With the property market going through a slump, private equity investors are shifting their investments to companies engaged in real estate ancillary businesses, where returns are perceived as fairly safe. "Real estate ancillary businesses are attractive," said Mr. Sourav Goswami, the Managing Director of a leading private real estate investment company, Walton Street Capital. "We continue to look at opportunities in this space, but the main challenge is the capability of the managements to carry out expansions. Such companies face shortage of talent and the stretch level is very thin." There are at least six private equity investors who are learnt to be in talks with Pune-based Universal Construction Machinery and Equipment. This company manufactures and sells construction equipment, and had a net profit of Rs 7 crore on sales of Rs 130 crore in 2007-08. Mumbai-based Sankapan Group also revealed that three private equity investors are interested in investing in its four subsidiaries.