5 August 2022

Home REIT plc

("Home REIT" or the "Company")

£85.1 MILLION OF ACQUISITIONS AND INVESTMENT ADVISER UPDATE

Home REIT plc (ticker: HOME), which funds the acquisition and creation of high-quality properties across the UK that are dedicated to providing accommodation to homeless people, announces that it has acquired 199 additional properties (the "Properties") located across England for an aggregate purchase price of £85.1 million (including acquisition costs).  

These acquisitions were funded by the net proceeds raised via the Company's oversubscribed £263 million equity issue in May 2022 (the "Subsequent Placing"). The Company has now deployed a total of £170 million (66 per cent.) of the proceeds of the Subsequent Placing, including the tranche of acquisitions announced on 4 July 2022.

The Properties have added a further 869 beds for those in need to the portfolio, bringing the portfolio total to 10,421 and further enhancing the Company's geographic diversification. The acquisitions adhered to the Company's strict investment criteria, providing much needed accommodation for vulnerable homeless people across England. They are let on an average lease length of 25 years at low and sustainable rents, on new, unbroken, long term, full repairing and insuring leases to specialist registered homeless charities and community interest companies (CICs), providing them with sought-after long-term security of tenure. The leases are subject to annual upward-only rent reviews, index-linked to the Consumer Prices Index, with an annual collar and cap of 1 per cent. and 4 per cent. respectively.

Each of the Properties is immediately income producing and, following these transactions, the blended net initial yield of the Company's portfolio is ahead of expectations.

The purchase of the Properties was made from the Company's attractive c. £300 million acquisition pipeline, which has been under due diligence and legal negotiation since earlier this year. This pipeline was in an advanced stage of preparation ahead of the Subsequent Placing and assembled through the Company's deep network of relationships, according to the specific need within each local authority area.

Investment Adviser Update

The Board also announces that Alex Baker has joined Gareth Jones and Charlotte Fletcher within the senior management team at Home REIT Advisors Limited, the investment adviser to the Company. Alex is a chartered surveyor, qualifying at Cushman & Wakefield (formerly DTZ), and previously worked in the value-add fund management team at Fiera Real Estate (formerly Palmer Capital).

Charlotte Fletcher, Partner at Alvarium Home REIT Advisors Limited, said:

"This latest tranche of acquisitions represents a significant expansion of our portfolio and allows us to scale up our support for homeless people across the UK. The expeditious deployment of the proceeds of our significantly oversubscribed Subsequent Placing in May demonstrates the Company's impressive capacity to source attractive investment opportunities and the strength of our relationships with local stakeholders. We are excited to welcome Alex to the management team and are confident that his appointment will further bolster our ability to deliver strong returns to investors whilst also fulfilling a pressing social need."

The Company's combined portfolio to date

·   High quality, much needed accommodation for vulnerable, homeless people, providing critical housing solutions for people fleeing from domestic abuse, those faced with homelessness due to poverty, people suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues, prison leavers and ex-armed forces.

·    Low and sustainable rents across the portfolio, providing significant savings to local authorities compared to less suitable alternative accommodation.

·    Let to registered charities, housing associations, community interest companies and other regulated organisations, which have a proven operating track record in providing low-cost accommodation to homeless people and a focus on care, support, training and rehabilitation to provide them with the skills and confidence to find long-term accommodation and enable them to reintegrate into society.

·    All the rent payable by Home REIT's tenants is funded by support from local and central government.

·    Providing 10,421 beds across 2,150 properties.

·  Following the acquisition of the Properties, the Company's portfolio is further diversified across 126 different local authorities and 28 tenants, with the following geographical exposures (by asset value):

o London: 16.1%

o North West: 14.8%

o North East: 13.4%

o Yorkshire and the Humber: 13.2%

o East Midlands: 11.6%

o South West: 8.9%

o West Midlands: 7.9%

o South East: 7.3%

o East: 5.9%

o Wales: 0.9%

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

The Company's LEI is: 213800A53AOVH3FCGG44.

For more information, please visit the Company's website: www.homereituk.com

About Home REIT plc

Home REIT plc seeks to contribute to the alleviation of homelessness in the UK, whilst targeting inflation-protected income and capital returns, by funding the acquisition and creation of a diversified portfolio of high-quality accommodation assets across the UK which are dedicated to providing accommodation to homeless people. The accommodation assets are let or pre-let on very long (typically 20 to 30 years) leases, containing inflation-linked or fixed uplift rent review provisions, to registered charities, housing associations, community interest companies and other regulated organisations which have a proven operating track record in providing low-cost accommodation to homeless people and which receive housing benefit or comparable support from local or central government to fund the provision of such accommodation to homeless people.

There is a critical need for further accommodation for homeless people in the UK, due to an increasing homeless population and a lack of available and affordable high-quality, fit-for-purpose stock to address the problem. Local housing authorities are under a statutory duty to secure accommodation for individuals who are unintentionally homeless and in priority need but current accommodation for homeless people is limited in quantum and often sub-standard and uneconomical.

The Company focuses on investing in and creating well-located properties that provide a sustainable level of rent for the tenant. Within the homeless accommodation assets, there is a focus on care, support, training and rehabilitation to provide vulnerable homeless people with the skills and confidence to find long-term accommodation and enable them to reintegrate back into society. Savings are expected to be made to local authorities and other providers of accommodation to homeless people via lower rents versus more expensive alternative accommodation.

The Company is listed on the premium segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and its Ordinary Shares were admitted to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, premium segment, on 12 October 2020.