The board of UK-based PRS REIT has confirmed it has received a letter from a group of shareholders requesting an extraordinary general meeting of the company.
The group, representing 17.3% of the company's shares, consists of Harwood Capital Management, Waverton Investment Management, CCLA Investment Management, Alder Investment Management, and CG Asset Management.
The five shareholders are demanding the removal of non-executive chair Stephen Smith and non-executive director Steffan Francis. In their place, the shareholders propose to appoint Robert Naylor and Christopher Mills, who is also the majority shareholder of Harwood Capital Management, which itself holds a 1.1% stake in PRS REIT.
The group says it wants the two new directors and the three remaining board members to review options to return value to shareholders.
PRS REIT noted that Ruffer and Asset Value Investors, together holding a further 1.6% stake, intend to vote with the Harwood-led group, adding that it will take advice on the validity of the letter and make a further announcement ‘in due course’.
According to UK media reports, several shareholders were unhappy after PRS REIT announced in July that it extended its management agreement with Sigma PRS Management until 2029.
PRS REIT has invested over £1 bn (€1.2 bn) in private rental homes across the UK, funded by initial public offerings and government support.
With a market valuation of nearly £500 mln (€594 mln) and a portfolio of over 5,400 homes, PRS REIT is considered the largest single-family build-to-rent portfolio in the UK. A further 180 homes were contracted at 30 June 2024, with the majority expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
