Probe relates to social housing company Home REIT, which has links to a troubled Liverpool charity group
14:58, 14 Jan 2026Updated 14:58, 14 Jan 2026
Serious Fraud Office officers raided properties today as part of a £300m probe into social housing company Home REIT(Image: )
Six people have been arrested and homes around the country have been raided after the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched an investigation into a UK social housing company with links to Merseyside.
The SFO has today conducted a major operation involving raids and arrests in different locations around the country as it announced a new bribery and fraud investigation into the past management of Home REIT, a listed UK social housing company. The SFO said that the suspected offending had an estimated value of £300m.
SFO investigators carried out searches and made arrests at homes in Altrincham, Maidenhead and London – a commercial site in Manchester has also been searched. Assistance was provided by the National Crime Agency.
Home REIT, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2020, sold investment in its leasing of thousands of homes across the UK, raising more than £850 million in its first three years of trading.
Serious Fraud Office officers raided properties today as part of a £300m probe into social housing company Home REIT(Image: )
Investors were told that their money would be used to buy and restore properties that would be block-let to publicly funded charities and Community Interest Companies to house rough sleepers, veterans and people struggling with addiction. Returns would be generated to investors from rent payments.
One of Home REIT’s major former tenants was the troubled Liverpool-based charity group Big Help Group. In 2024, The charity surrendered its leases on over 600 properties after a fall out regarding houses it had rented from Home REIT to house homeless people and those leaving prison. The Big Help Group includes the Big Help Project anti-poverty charity, which is under investigation by the Charity Commission.
In November 2022 an investor report into Home REIT raised multiple concerns about the company including the valuation of its properties and the ability of its tenants to pay rent. It suspended trading on the London Stock Exchange in January 2023.
Assisted by the SFO, Italy’s Guardia di Finanza also carried out a search of a home in Venice.
Emma Luxton, Director of Operations at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said: “This company had a meteoric rise, spending millions on properties that were supposed to house the most vulnerable in society and provide returns for investors.
“Its chaotic downfall has left many with unanswered questions. Today we conducted a major operation to advance our inquiries into suspected bribery and fraud.”
Serious Fraud Office officers raided properties today as part of a £300m probe into social housing company Home REIT(Image: )
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves MP said: “The allegations in this case are deeply serious. Vulnerable people, including rough sleepers and veterans, were promised homes, while investors who funded millions of pounds were promised returns. Both groups deserve answers.
“Fraud is a devastating crime harming people and damaging business confidence. I fully support the Serious Fraud Office’s fraud and bribery investigation, working with enforcement partners – at home and abroad.“