Helical Bar chief sees improved signs

Chief executive of property group Helical Bar, Michael Slade said that he is starting to see 'much improved' signs in parts of the UK commercial property market.

Morningstar.co.uk Editors 22 July, 2009 | 8:32AM
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He added that the valuations of certain types of properties are levelling out, but the market remains a ‘curate’s egg’ with only select opportunities. The group is looking to take advantage where property prices are still falling. Potential new projects include a 248 unit retirement home in Exeter. It is also involved in the development of Riverbank House, London EC4 as new headquarters for Man and Pace Investments.

Helical Bar has seen an improvement in the value of certain types of properties within its portfolio, notably prime West End and City offices, high-end out-of-town retail parks and industrial estates in the South East. However, the group is still seeing average property values falling because of weaker rental values.

The group has increased its annualised income by £356,000, largely due to lettings in The Hub, Glasgow. It has also secured six lease renewals, worth £455,000. Overall, Helical Bar completed 23 lettings in the first quarter, securing £850,000 of annual income in its investment and UK development portfolio.

Helical Bar said it has renegotiated £134m of its debt, which has removed loan-to-value covenants for between two to three years. It says that this will give it more flexibility in planning.

This is a notably more upbeat statement than it issued in early June, when it revealed a full-year loss and Slade said that the commercial property market was likely to see a double-dip. This loss was largely due to losses on the sale of investments.

The shares rose 2p to 333p on the news. There has been a small recovery in the share price since the end of 2008, rising from lows of under 250p. The shares had peaked at over 500p at the end of 2007. The group has not seen some of the precipitous drops experienced by its commercial property rivals and for those who are keen to reinvest in the sector ahead of a recovery, this might be a safer place to start.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Helical PLC195.20 GBX-1.61

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