Fund manager who hopes to come to the rescue of struggling Home REIT receives support from several major investors
A fund manager hoping to come to the rescue of struggling Home REIT has received support from several major investors.
In late February, Edinburgh-based RM Funds sent out a proposal dubbed “Project Casa” to try to convince shareholders it could take over as investment adviser for the sheltered housing group.
Former adviser Alvarium severed ties with Home REIT as it became embroiled in a series of escalating crises.
In a draft shareholder proposal, seen by the Mail, RM offered an “immediate reduction” in advisory fees, while promising to reinvest a percentage of these into buying shares.
RM said he wanted to preserve the company’s “social goals” of providing housing for vulnerable people – the promise originally made by Home REIT founders Gareth Jones and Jamie Beale, fund managers at Alvarium.
Troubled: RM Funds has sent out a proposal dubbed ‘Project Casa’ to try to convince shareholders it could take over as investment adviser for the sheltered housing group
The proposal was submitted to the council of owners. The firm announced on Wednesday that it was in talks with several candidate investment advisers.
RM’s offer won the support of more than a third of the group’s shareholders, including several leading investors.
A source familiar with the matter said that if the board does not accept RM’s proposal, the risk of a “fire sale” of Home REIT’s portfolio would increase, meaning many vulnerable residents would have to be relocated.
They added that an offer for Home REIT filed by investment firm Blue Star Capital, whose director Benoit Gotlieb has ties to Alvarium, was “not helpful” because it restricted disclosure at a time when transparency was essential.
