Home REIT (HOME) is facing further litigation from a commercial dispute with its former financial adviser, Smith Square Partners, which is seeking £1.62m plus interest and costs over an alleged unpaid contractual fee linked to the company’s portfolio disposal programme. Smith Square, which was appointed in February 2023 following the resignation of Home REIT’s brokers and amid the company’s governance and rent collection crisis, advised the board on its strategic options, including the search for a new investment manager, discussions with lenders and potential bidders for the company or its assets. The mandate ended on 24 November 2023, but the company’s claim centres on a contractual “tail fee”. Smith Square alleges that Home REIT’s 13 November 2025 RNS, which responded to media speculation over the portfolio sales process, triggered a fee that remained payable during the 24-month period following the termination of its engagement. That process ultimately culminated in the sale of 706 properties to Patron Capital, announced in March 2026. Home REIT said it intends to “vigorously defend” the claim.
QuotedData’s Richard Williams said: “The dispute is another reminder that the long-running fallout from Home REIT’s 2022 crisis continues to generate legal and financial loose ends, even as the company nears the end of its asset disposal process. It may be quite some time before shareholders see any proceeds from the wind-down.”
In an update on its wind-down, Macau Property Opportunities (MPO) warns that the combination of a weak Macau luxury residential market and a tougher stance from lenders following the unsuccessful December capital raise has accelerated the disposal timetable, meaning assets may need to be sold at prices materially below their carrying values. It continues to make progress with its orderly wind-down, with more than 90% of units at The Waterside now sold and marketing continuing for Penha Heights, while regulatory approvals remain the key hurdle to disposing of the remaining Fountainside units. As at 31 March 2026, the portfolio was valued at US$61.3m, down 7.0% from the end of 2025, while adjusted NAV fell 17.6% to US$23.5m (US$0.38 per share). Although government stimulus measures have driven a sharp rebound in transaction volumes in Macau’s mass-market residential sector, the luxury segment in which MPO operates remains under significant pressure, with prices down 18% year-on-year.
