The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an investigation into Home Reit (HOME ), the homeless accommodation provider whose shares have been suspended for more than a year. 

The company said it had been notified that the FCA’s probe covers the period from the launch of the real estate investment trust, with its intention to float statement, on 22 September 2020, to 3 January 2023, when the shares were suspended due to a four-month delay in its 2022 annual results.

This followed allegations by short seller Viceroy Research’s Fraser Perring that Home’s properties had been overvalued and that its former fund manager Alvarium had conflicts of interest with developers and had misled the board. Today he tweeted: ‘People need to go to prison for this. Investors were screwed.’

— Fraser Perring - Grand Poobah of “criminal” shorts (@AIMhonesty) February 13, 2024

It was reported a year ago that the National Crime Agency had looked at the social housing fund’s property deals and was considering passing its documents to the FCA and the National Investigation Service, which is responsible for probing serious organised crime in the public sector. 

Last May, Alvarium was replaced as manager by AEW which, alongside company turnaround specialist Bill Starn, began reviewing and re-tenanting a portfolio that had been racked by rent arrears caused by the financial woes of its housing association tenants.

Some associations had withheld rent over a dispute with Alvarium concerning refurbishment costs.

After much criticism of the board at the annual general meeting last August, chair Lynne Fennah was replaced by Big Yellow storage group director Michael O’Donnell in January.

Last month the company also announced the sale of another 103 properties – 4.8% of the portfolio – for £6.6m, 8.4% below their August 2023 draft valuation.

Shares in Home Reit plunged 70% in 2022 and are likely to fall heavily if trading ever resumes.

Publication of what are now two delayed annual reports for 2022 and 2023 has been pushed back to the second quarter of this year, having been pencilled in for the first quarter. This has further held up a lifting of the shares’ suspension and extended the period in which shareholders’ money has been locked up.

‘Naturally, the company will cooperate fully with the FCA in its work,’ Home said in a statement. It declined to comment further, as did the FCA.