Home REIT agrees lease surrender on 600 sites

Home REIT has reached an agreement with one of its largest tenants over the surrender of leases on more than 600 properties. Big Help, which comprises Big Help Homes CIC, Big Help Project, CG Community Council, Dovecot & Princess Drive Community Association, N-Trust Homes CIC and Select Social Housing CIC, will hand back the leases on some 30% of Home REIT’s portfolio by number of properties. Big Help provides accommodation to vulnerable people. Home REIT said the surrendered leases were on properties occupied by a mix of private rented sector tenants on assured shorthold tenancies and social tenants placed by local authorities on licences. The tenancies will now transfer to Home REIT and the company will appoint new property managers. “The board and [adviser] AEW have considered all options and believe this achieves the best solution for the company and its shareholders, and allows the company to gain control of the properties, appoint property managers, collect the underlying rental income and remove Big Help as a tenant from the portfolio.”