Home Reit (HOME ) shareholders have given almost unanimous backing to its board’s proposal to change its focus on owning housing only for vulnerable residents, including the homeless.

At a general meeting of shareholders yesterday, 99.95% of the votes cast supported dropping the social purpose investment strategy of the real estate investment trust (Reit) during a two- to three-year stabilisation period, although 29.4% of shareholders abstained.

The approval means real estate fund manager AEW replaces Home’s original investment adviser, Alvarium, with immediate effect.

Nick Winsley, head of AEW UK in London, will take the lead in restructuring the portfolio and finding new tenants for many of its properties in a bid to reverse a damaging slump in rental income.

Winsley’s team includes Laura Elkin, lead manager of AEW UK Reit (AEWU ), a top-performing generalist Reit investing in offices, retail parks and industrial warehouses.

‘Today’s result will allow us to continue to execute our stabilisation strategy for the company’s portfolio,’ Winsley said. ‘Protecting the interests of all of Home Reit’s stakeholders remains at the forefront of our agenda.’

Home’s chair Lynne Fennah said: ‘Shareholders have overwhelmingly supported our proposal and we can now focus on our continuing work with AEW to maximise value.’

She said AEW’s appointment was an important step, with the fund manager having already begun work to shore up the portfolio and ensure it could maintain its mission of providing accommodation to vulnerable people.

Shares in Home were suspended in January following a devastating report by short-seller Viceroy Research. Several social housing charity tenants have been unable to pay their long-term leases and have gone into liquidation, with just 7% of £8.77m of rent due collected in May and June.

AEW appointed Jones Lang LaSalle as its new property valuer and has instructed a third party to inspect all of its properties, with a view to publishing its long overdue 2022 annual and interim accounts. 

Winterflood analyst Emma Bird said the result provided ‘much-needed clarity’ but that it was unclear how much value could be realised from the portfolio or when its delayed financial results would be published to enable trading to resume in the shares.