Home REIT FCA probe closed

The FCA opened its probe in 2024 after Home REIT was engulfed by scandal, including the collapse of some major tenants, repeated asset sales to raise cash and pay down debt, and the suspension of its shares after it failed to publish annual accounts. The company floated in 2020 with a pitch that it would house vulnerable and homeless people while delivering rental income to investors, but later came under fire after some properties were reportedly being marketed to students and holidaymakers.

For investors, the FCA’s decision is a partial relief but not a clean bill of health. More than 800 shareholders filed claims earlier this month alleging misleading statements and omissions about the company’s business model, rental income security, tenant experience and portfolio valuations, while the Serious Fraud Office is still investigating former management after identifying as much as £300 million in suspected fraud and bribery.

The regulatory closure may help limit one source of uncertainty, but it does not resolve the central question of what investors were told versus what Home REIT’s assets and tenants were actually worth. That leaves the High Court case and the SFO probe as the key remaining catalysts for anyone still exposed to the name, or to broader concerns about governance and due diligence in the UK real estate and social housing sector.