Homeless accommodation landlord Home Reit (HOME) saw its shares plunge by a fifth following the publication of a short report which made damning allegations about its financial stability. Home Reit said the report was inaccurate.
The document from Viceroy Research alleged that many of the tenants Home Reit works with to provide accommodation for homeless people “cannot afford rent, have not been paying rent, are in administration, are run by bad actors, or simply do not provide social housing services”. In a trading update on 1 November, Home Reit said it had 2,239 properties in its portfolio and had collected 100 per cent of rent due in the 12 months ending 31 August.
The report also echoed concerns raised by an Investors’ Chronicle investigation in August this year which found that three of Home Reit's largest tenants – Big Help Project, GC Community Council and Princess Drive Community Association – share more than one trustee, including Labour councillor Peter Mitchell. Other tenants are registered at the same address or previously shared directors.
The Viceroy report went on to criticise Home Reit for its judgement regarding Circle Housing & Support which Investors’ Chronicle revealed collapsed into administration in July. The administrators Carter Backer Winter (CBW) said at the time that “leases for certain locations are onerous and that without a restructuring of the portfolio, the charity would be unable to pay its ongoing liabilities in the not-too-distant future”.
A spokesperson for Home Reit said: “The [Viceroy] report was published without any engagement with the company's board, investment advisor, or wider advisory team. It is the board's belief that the report is inaccurate and misleading in its comments about the company, being based on mistaken assumptions, misinformed comments, and disputable allegations.
“The company will publish a full and detailed response demonstrating the factual inaccuracies and selective use of information in due course."
