A Home Reit (HOME) investor is demanding a leadership overhaul after the homeless accommodation landlord's share price plummeted last month following a short seller attack, while also making its own claims about the company's business model and valuation.
The Boatman Capital Research – which said it owns shares in Home Reit through a connected entity and may consider buying more – on Monday published an open letter to the company's senior independent director Simon Moore calling for a change in its leadership, "starting with the chair and the head of the audit committee". Boatman has prevously targeted defence giant Babcock (BAB) and more recently has gone after crypto mining specialist Argo Blockchain (ARB).
In the new letter, Boatman repeated concerns raised by short seller Viceroy Capital in its report last month that Home Reit’s assets are worth much less than it claims and that some of the homeless accommodation providers could be “bad actors”. The research house, reportedly run by former journalist David Robertson, also said the valuation of Home Reit's properties could really be 39-51 per cent lower than the published numbers.
Last week, Home Reit published a lengthy rebuttal to Viceroy and described its allegations as “baseless”. Viceroy alleged in response that Home Reit had not properly engaged with the points it raised.
Boatman’s letter references Investors’ Chronicle’s investigation from August which found that many of Home Reit’s largest tenants are young companies with thin balance sheets. 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.
Home Reit has been approached for comment. Its shares fell by 5 per cent after the publication of the Boatman letter.
