Home Reit’s (HOME) investment advisor Alvarium (US:ALTI) has sold the part of its business responsible for managing the homeless accommodation landlord for £24mn following a tumultuous couple of months for the company. Alvarium said this morning that Alvarium Home REIT Advisors Limited (AHRA) had been sold to “a newly formed entity owned by the management of AHRA funded by way of a promissory note”.
Alvarium, which made the sale prior to its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, added that “the sale also includes specific terms allowing [Alvarium] to re-acquire AHRA in the future for a purchase price equal to the promissory note outstanding”.
Fraser Perring from Viceroy Research, which published a damning report on Home Reit in November before HOME’s share price plunged, told Investors’ Chronicle that he plans on shorting Alvarium. He added that the sale is “without a doubt” an attempt by the investment advisor to distance itself from Home Reit prior to the listing.
Home Reit and Alvairum have been contacted for comment.
The news comes the day after Home Reit suspended its shares due its failure to publish its financial results on time following months of criticism from short sellers, charities and politicians over the ethics and financial stability of its business model. The company said it will restore its listing upon publication of the results which it said would be “as soon as practicable” and has repeatedly denied all the allegations made against it.
The landlord first announced the delay in November, blaming it on the publication of Viceroy’s report days earlier. “As directors and shareholders, we share investors' frustration at the delay of the company's full year results due to the actions of Viceroy,” Home Reit said at the time.
Perring told Investors' Chronicle he was considering a legal claim against Home Reit over his allegations, joining a growing list of critics mounting challenges against the landlord. Law firm Harcus Parker launched a claim against Home Reit over allegations it misled investors last month. ShareSoc, a non-profit group representing private investors, said it was considering supporting the legal case but wanted to “assess demand before deploying our resources”.
Home Reit has called Viceroy’s allegations “baseless and misleading” and has dismissed the other criticisms against it as “without foundation”. However, in December, it said it was bringing a number of new people at a senior level and was conducting a review of its due diligence in light of “investor feedback”.
