In October 2020, Home REIT completed a successful IPO raising £240m for investment in short-stay supported housing. They went on to raise in total over a billion in further equity issues and debt from a wide range of retail and institutional investors which was invested in over 2,300 properties let to 28 charities and CICs to provide accommodation for a wide range of vulnerable people. Sadly, at the beginning of this year their shares were suspended and it became clear that there were some considerable challenges with their business model.

In this Care Thoughts paper No. 6, we look at what lessons can be learnt from this and how a more sustainable business model for short stay supported housing could be developed.