21st Oct 2026 13:26
(Alliance News) - Home REIT PLC on Wednesday saw its shares rise after the UK Financial Conduct Authority closed its investigation into the London-based investor in the UK social housing sector.
The FCA, according to correspondence received by Home REIT, said it had investigated the company for the period between September 22, 2020 and January 3, 2023, and intends to take no further action against Home REIT.
Home REIT shares jumped 8.5% to 8.90 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London.
Notably, the investigation started back in February 2024.
Home REIT Chair Michael O'Donnell said Wednesday: "Following our extensive cooperation with the FCA's investigation, we are pleased to announce that it has closed its investigation and intends to take no further action against the company."
Pressure on the FCA to look into Home REIT had started in June 2023, City A.M. reported at the time.
The outlet had obtained a letter to the FCA from shareholder The Boatman Capital, in which the activist investor called for a probe into claims Home REIT made regarding its rental income and the quality of its properties.
Boatman accused Home REIT of misleading the market with incomplete and inaccurate information, leaving investors "badly burnt". It also said Home REIT was providing "sub-standard" housing, the "opposite of what investors were promised".
At the time, City A.M. said the FCA refused to comment on the matter. This Is Money likewise reported in late August that the regulator was still "keeping quiet".
Previously, in November 2022, short seller Viceroy Research claimed that several of Home REIT's tenant organisations did not appear to be paying any rent, among other allegations which it said cast doubt on the portfolio's financial viability.
The next month, Boatman called for Home REIT's chair and audit chair to be replaced, citing what it described as "governance failures and accounting irregularities".
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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