Home REIT reports FCA investigation closure as separate SFO case stays open

Home REIT says the Financial Conduct Authority has closed its investigation into the company and intends to take no further action against it. The board disclosed the outcome on 21 October after receiving the regulator’s correspondence the previous evening.[1]

The inquiry, announced in February 2024, covered 22 September 2020 to 3 January 2023. Chair Michael O’Donnell welcomed the closure following the company’s cooperation. The announcement is a defined regulatory outcome for Home REIT itself, covering the investigation identified in its notice.[1]

A separate investigation concerns past management

The Serious Fraud Office continues to list its Home REIT case as open. Its published description concerns suspected fraud and bribery involving the company’s past management in connection with social housing. This is a different authority, investigation and subject from the FCA company inquiry.[2]

In January, six people were arrested, investigators searched properties in Britain and a Venice home with Italian authorities, and around £10 million in assets was restrained. These are investigatory steps; no finding of guilt is reported.[2]

For investors and intermediaries following the company, the useful change is therefore specific: one company-level regulatory inquiry has ended, while the SFO’s separately identified case remains open. The scope of each proceeding determines what the closure resolves.[1][2]

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