Investors lay siege to boardroom of London-listed private rental group

A group of shareholders in PRS REIT, a London-listed investment trust, are laying siege to its boardroom in a bid to oust its chairman and force a strategic review which could lead to a sale of the company.

Sky News has learnt a number of institutional investors which collectively control close to 20% of its shares are preparing to requisition an extraordinary general meeting in a bid to remove Stephen Smith as its chairman.

They are also said to be seeking to oust another, unidentified, board member, and are expected to nominate replacements for the two directors.

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Mr Smith is a former chief investment officer of British Land, and also held a senior role at AXA Real Estate Investment Managers.

PRS REIT, which has a market capitalisation of close to £500m, is the largest build-to-rent platform in Britain’s private rented sector (PRS).

Its backers include Homes England, the government agency, and it owns more than 5,300 new rental properties.

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A number of shareholders are understood to be unhappy at an announcement it made in July that the company had extended its existing management agreement with Sigma PRS Management by two-and-a-half years until 2029.

One source said the extension had been unnecessary because the investment process being undertaken by the manager would be completed in 2025, rendering the need for a revised agreement superfluous.

PRS REIT said at the time of the extension that it had secured annual cost savings of £460,000 as part of the deal.

On Wednesday, it was reported that MIGO Opportunities, a special situations investor, had acquired a stake in PRS REIT in the expectation that the company would be forced into corporate activity such as a break-up.

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The disgruntled institutions, whose names were unclear on Wednesday evening, are said to believe PRS REIT’s board should now consider all strategic options to maximise shareholder value.

These could include asset sales to generate capital to be returned to investors or a sale of the whole company, according to one person briefed on their agenda.

A strategic review, allied with the proposed board changes, could help to reduce or eliminate the discount to net asset value currently facing PRS REIT’s shareholders, the person added.

PRS REIT floated in 2017, when it raised £560m by selling new shares, and subsequently launched further capital-raisings in 2018 and 2021.

It floated at 100p-a-share, and although the shares have rallied by more than 20% over the last 12 months, they still languished below that level on Wednesday afternoon at 89.5p.

A number of real estate investment trusts, including Home REIT, have endured torrid periods as listed companies, raising serious questions about issues of corporate governance.

Shares in PRS REIT closed on Wednesday at 89.5p, down just under 0.25%.

PRS REIT did not respond to a request for comment.

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