Property company Helical Bar has ambitions for a speculative City of London office scheme next spring - it has already acquired a prime development site at Mitre Square.
The deal was signed a day before its full-year results were announced - these reported a return to profit, but tempered by a £10m provision taken on the high proportion of development sites held for the next cycle. This ensured NAV remained flat, unlike peers with income-producing assets that have booked large paper gains.
Chief executive Mike Slade said Helical was exploring funding options for a speculative scheme at Mitre Square. "I'm a great believer in the City market," said Mr Slade. "There are a great number of leases rolling over in 2014-2015 and the merry-go-round will start in 2011-2012 as tenants look to tie-up space."
Helical is still actively investing and is through to the final bidding round for properties in the £850m distressed White Tower portfolio. "As the market gets soggy, it's time to put your buying boots on," said Mr Slade. The group has bought £120m of property since the slump and sold £73m of mature assets, using the proceeds to repay debt.
Broker KBC Peel Hunt forecasts NAV of 293p in 2011.
| HELICAL BAR (HLCL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 296p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 317m | |
| TOUCH: | 294-296p | 12M HIGH | 426p | LOW: 284p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | TRADING STOCK: | £13.3m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 9% | |||
| INVEST PROPERTIES: | £220m | NET DEBT: | 84% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 309 | 57.1 | 51.8 | 3.65 |
| 2007 | 374 | 60.1 | 53.7 | 4.05 |
| 2008 | 352 | -24.3 | -13.5 | 4.50 |
| 2009 | 286 | -71.9 | -56.6 | 4.50 |
| 2010 | 272 | 7.88 | 9.10 | 7.25 |
| % change | -5 | - | - | +61 |
Ex-div:23 Jun Payment:23 Jul | ||||
