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[spectoacc] 07/9/2023 07:11

They'd not have contracted to re-EPC all nearly-3,000 properties tho, no chance.

But agree it's possible previous EPCs were iffy.

However, again - what does that HOME RNS actually say? I've no idea. On the surface, it's just an inspection of all the properties, with no mention of the fact it's an EPC co they've appoitned. Maybe the EPC co are branching out into other business..

Be very interesting if they are dumping more at Allsops.

[flyer61] 07/9/2023 07:08

Having been threatened with libel recently I will be careful in my choice of words.
It is possible that the previous EPCs possibly were defective in some way combine that with properties that are unoccupied it may have been thought prudent to update the estate.

Haven't seen the legal packs yet and to tight to spend a few quid at the land registry so will see if my hunch is right very shortly.

Not a holder.

[spectoacc] 07/9/2023 05:48

@Flyer61 - EPCs are needed to rent too, and will still all be valid for sales (10 years). I'm left not knowing what on earth that last RNS meant - it's almost impossible to get inside every property in that timescale, yet they've appointed an EPC co to do so - why?

Be interesting if they are flogging another set - didn't say they would be, but that £4m of working capital won't last long when they're only collecting c.7% of rent, and have AEW & Scot Widows (& the Board!) to pay.

[little beaker] 06/9/2023 20:07

Got a link?

[flyer61] 06/9/2023 19:45

EPCs needed for sales. A quick look in the Allsops catalogue suggests a lot of sales from HOME.

[terminator101] 04/9/2023 15:25

Breaking news. Home reit is still a pile of pish. Ends.

[spectoacc] 04/9/2023 14:32

@CC2014 - indeed, but from this morning's RNS:

"The Company has appointed Vibrant Energy Matters Limited ("Vibrant"), a subsidiary of Connells Limited, to inspect all 2,473 properties in the portfolio..".


What I'm not sure from a re-reading of it is whether JLL are also going to inspect all 2,473 properties, for their valuations. I think it may just be Vibrant who do.

Re valuations:

"...with target completion by mid-November following completion of all property inspections."

There's not a hope in hell.


Edit - Unless "inspection" means the same inspection Knight Frank did - ie a quick perusal on Rightmove's Sold data.

But I have a suspicion - someone may correct me - that the EPC rules are pretty strict, and they won't get away without going in each of the properties themselves (unless it's a blanket G EPC on all those they can't get into).

Why would they want new EPCs on 2,473 properties, not that they explicity say that? If the inspection is for something else, why appoint an EPC co to do it? Why does every HOME RNS create more questions than it answers?

[cc2014] 04/9/2023 14:15

Perhaps a bit hard on them Specto?

They don't need to visit them all to get the accounts done. Just a decent proportion and those where they are getting paid and have no issues (ahem) can be left to last.

But it's all expenditure coming out of the NAV.


I'd like to mention the cash position. £0.8m in cash plus the sale money to come in. Seems like all the rent is coming in to feed the interest beast and one wonders it is even all being covered or whether any underpayment is being added to the debt owed.

It all looks a bit desperate

[spectoacc] 04/9/2023 12:57

Missed the RNS, thanks. As ever with HOME, the fun never stops.


" The Company has appointed Vibrant Energy Matters Limited ("Vibrant"), a subsidiary of Connells Limited, to inspect all 2,473 properties in the portfolio, with target completion by mid-November 2023

-- The Company has appointed Jones Lang LaSalle Limited ("JLL") as valuer to undertake valuations of the entire portfolio on the bases of market value and market value on the special assumption of vacant possession as at 31 August 2022, 28 February 2023 and 31 August 2023 with target completion by mid-November following completion of all property inspections."



They don't say it, but Vibrant Energy Matters Ltd is an EPC co, so it sounds like they're re-doing the EPC's on the full 2,473 remaining properties.

It sounds like JLL will visit the properties, unlike Knight Frank. But one obvious point - just how easy is it to visit 2,473 properties? Will they go inside? Will they honestly be able to arrange access, at short notice, and when c.87% of tenants aren't paying their rent?

Visiting 5 a day would take a year and a half, working 7 days a week inc bank holidays. Assuming no access issues, with loads of people inspecting, and working 5 days a week, they're saying (with a mid-November deadline) they'll visit 49 properties a day.

If I'm misreading it, Vibrant Energy still need to inspect 49 properties a day for EPC purposes, and do the reports on each.

Not. A. Chance.

HOME have got c.£800k of unrestricted cash, showing how important dumping those auction properties was. Let's hope there's no delay to completions.

Likely to restate 2021, and might be trading again by Christmas.

[triskelion] 04/9/2023 12:47

4 September Monthly Update, above, has among other glad tidings:
"The Company does not expect to be in a position to publish its outstanding accounts until late 2023 at the earliest."

[cruelladeville] 23/8/2023 09:53

There's a TV documentary is this mess once it's eventually all worked through.

[williamcooper104] 23/8/2023 08:54

Lol "Longer fraud duration"

[spectoacc] 23/8/2023 07:25

Interesting @LB. So the alleged business model was:

- The geezer now in Venice goes around gobbling up every HMO he can lay his hands on
- These are flipped a couple of times between SPVs, often within weeks, before being sold to HOME at c. double the price paid
- HOME leases them to a CIC, often with same/similar people involved
- Venice chap gives some of the proceeds to the CIC, to pay the first year's rent to HOME
- CIC leases some of them on to Mears, but at a curiously lower rent
- In theory, Mears + rent gift should have kept the show on the road enough years to avoid HOME imploding too quickly, with HOME continually raising new money to add new stock with longer fraud duration
- In practice, many couldn't even manage their first year of rent, almost all (~93%) are now paying nothing, and CapEx/maintenance fallen way behind for some.


All done in plain sight, much of it easily confirmed by those us of on here after the VR allegations first emerged. Yet seemingly the HOME board knew nothing, even when told what was going on.

[wskill] 23/8/2023 07:20

No this board will never leave they must stay until they have covered all saves All the problems for Alverium as well.

[williamcooper104] 23/8/2023 07:09

Why we need a new board now and a chief litigation officer

[little beaker] 23/8/2023 06:44

This has been known for some time, last year the ft reported at
, as follows:

One missing piece relates to social housing group Mears, which has sublet the Circle portfolio for ten years. Home Reit says the transfer required a kickback from an unidentified property developer to Circle “to cover the difference over the course of the lease between the cost of the head lease to Home Reit and the cost of the sublease to Mears.

Peel Hunt’s team is not convinced by Home Reit’s rebuttal around apparent conflicts of interest, particularly where charity directors are involved in property development, and questions the company’s choice of rent affordability measures. (“We note that the price per bed per week that Home Reit charges for refurbished homes appears to be circa 35 per cent higher than those charged by PRS Reit for new-build properties.”)


So if you read back to HOME's comedy rebuttal of viceroy, you'll see it there:

Circle Housing and Support ("Circle"): Circle is currently in solvent administration. The circumstances surrounding Circle's solvent administration were driven by a change of strategic direction by Circle's management. Circle's properties are largely sub-let to Mears Group Ltd ("Mears") on ten-year sub-leases. Mears manages over 17,000 homes for local and central government. The Vendor provided a contribution to Circle referred to in the Report to cover the difference over the course of the lease between the cost of the head lease to Home REIT and the cost of the sub-lease to Mears. The Company announced the solvent administration on 1 November 2022, further noting that rent due continues to be paid on time and in full, with no impact to residents. Circle's existing leases were reassigned on the same rental terms and the remaining Vendor's contribution referenced above was transferred to One CIC on 25 November 2022, demonstrating the resilience of Home REIT's business model and its ability to continue to provide critical housing to its vulnerable occupants due to the protective statutory framework that the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 created.

[spectoacc] 23/8/2023 06:08

Not bad news, but quite funny - so One CIC had sublet to Mears, for a rent below what they were meant to be paying HOME, and weren't paying that rent anyway.

2/3rds of the income they were meant to be getting, and be very interesting to know if Mears are responsible for the upkeep/any dilaps. It should cover AEW's fee for a few months anyway.


"Transfer of sub-leases

The Company announces that One (Housing & Support) CIC ("One CIC") has agreed to surrender its leases on 100 properties comprising a total of 418 beds (the "Properties").


Mears Limited, guaranteed by Mears Group PLC, the housing and social care provider, has been occupying the Properties on a sub-lease from One CIC. These sub-leases will now transfer to Home REIT, with Mears Limited becoming a direct tenant for the remaining lease term of c.6.6 years with an initial contracted rental income of £891,155 per annum.


The surrender agreement allows the Company to receive a sustainable income stream from a strong tenant covenant and is expected to generate significantly higher rent collection than has previously been received from One CIC in relation to the Properties, despite a lower headline rent (previously £1,227,405 per annum).


The Company continues to work constructively with One CIC to find sustainable solutions for the other 234 properties it currently rents from Home REIT. This transaction reduces the Company's exposure to One CIC from 13.5% to 9.5% by number of properties and 14.2% to 11.9% by contracted rent roll (as at 31 July)."

[triskelion] 21/8/2023 19:12

Proposed investment policy [change] adopted and AEW UK Investment Management LLP appointed as the Company's AIFM and Investment Manager replacing Alvarium Fund Managers (UK) Limited.

[tradez4dayz] 21/8/2023 13:18

Anyone go to the egm/agm today?

[spectoacc] 17/8/2023 15:28

:)

Be interesting to see what the BoD's insurance covers. Going to be a lot of finger-pointing and back covering.

Fair point re auctions - and what we've seen already. They'd also never get more than a fraction of it away - the main buyers for a couple of years were HOME.

[williamcooper104] 17/8/2023 15:19

Indeed now is well past the time for a new board and maybe a CLO - Chief Litigation Officer :)

[williamcooper104] 17/8/2023 15:16

It would be a disaster - far better to stabilise the assets and then sell either as simple HMOs, or as social housing but with properly capitalised tenants Else you'd be literally fire sale dumping them at auction LBG/Widows would get their money (and fees) back, shareholders would get screwed

[spectoacc] 17/8/2023 13:50

If HOME had a larger creditor than the relatively small Scot Widows loan, I'm sure it'd be in administration already.

What it needs is a new Board, to manage a wind-down. It didn't need the same board, and the large, well-regarded, but in this instance inexperienced AEW appointing to strip out another layer of fees for themselves.

It's very WPCT/SUPP/INOV-esque. Appoint a "name", then watch them dip into your pocket.

Suspect there's plenty more to come on HOME. Another dump of properties I reckon, since the few million raised won't last long.