REG - Helical PLC - Trading Update

HelicalAnnouncement

13/07/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 8473F  Helical PLC  13 July 2023

13 July 2023

 

HELICAL PLC

("Helical" or the "Company")

Trading Update for the Period Since 1 April 2023

 

Ahead of its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") which will take place at 9:00am
today, Helical provides an update covering its trading activity for the period
1 April 2023 to 12 July 2023 ("the Period").

 

Commenting on the Company's activities, Gerald Kaye, Chief Executive, said:

 

"Since the start of the financial year we have made good progress with our
development pipeline, which totals almost 800,000 sq ft, of "best-in-class"
office space to be delivered into an undersupplied market over the course of
the next 5-6 years.

 

"With planning permission now formally granted at 100 New Bridge Street, EC4,
we are on track to take vacant possession of the building in Q4 and commence a
comprehensive refurbishment to create a carbon friendly building due to
complete in Q2, 2025.

 

"Our joint venture with Transport for London ("TfL") has also seen progress
with contracts signed earlier this week, confirming Helical as TfL's chosen
development partner.

 

"On the letting front, we have one further floor under offer at The JJ Mack
Building, EC1 and good interest in the remaining space."

 

Operational Performance

 

Development pipeline progressing with construction work at 100 New Bridge St
to commence in Q4

 

·   Planning permission has been granted for our next "best-in-class"
comprehensive office refurbishment at 100 New Bridge Street, EC4, located
adjacent to City Thameslink and the London Underground at Blackfriars Station
as well as a short walk from the Elizabeth Line at Farringdon station. The
carbon friendly building, to be completed in Q2 2025, will provide 192,000 sq
ft of office space across 10 storeys, including two new floors which will
benefit from exceptional views of St. Paul's Cathedral. Construction work is
anticipated to commence in Q4 2023 once current office tenant Baker McKenzie
vacates the building. The building will target BREEAM Outstanding, NABERS 5
Star, EPC A and WELL Platinum, as well as achieving the RIBA 2030 Built Target
(A1-A5) of 475 kgCO2e/m2.

·  Further to the announcement on 15 February 2023 that Transport for London
("TfL")'s wholly owned commercial property company had selected Helical as its
preferred development partner for its sustainable commercial office portfolio
across central London, contracts have now been signed confirming Helical as
the joint venture partner. The partnership will see the delivery of new
high-quality and sustainable office space above or close to London Tube
stations, which currently consist of three new commercial office developments
at Bank, Paddington and Southwark, totalling 600,000 sq ft. All three sites
have full planning permission to deliver sustainable commercial office
developments that provide exceptional workplaces and positively impact the
local community. The three schemes are:

o Bank OSD - located above the recently opened Bank station entrance on Cannon
Street. This eight storey office development will deliver 142,000 sq ft NIA
and is scheduled to start on site in 2024.

o Southwark OSD - located above Southwark Tube station. The scheme has consent
for a 220,000 sq ft NIA hybrid timber office building over 17 storeys. The
development is expected to start on site in 2025.

o Paddington OSD - located on the Grand Union Canal, close to the Elizabeth
Line station at Paddington. This 19-storey building will provide 235,000 sq ft
NIA of office space and construction is expected to commence in 2026.

 

Leasing momentum maintained in line with ERVs

 

·   In the Period we have completed four new lettings totalling 9,967 sq ft
NIA, delivering contracted rent of £557,000 in line with 31 March 2023 ERVs.
Lettings include:

o Three lettings totalling 7,443 sq ft NIA at The Loom, E1.

o The letting of a retail unit comprising 2,524 sq ft at The Bower, EC1 to
pasta restaurant, Noci.

·   At The JJ Mack Building, EC1 the 13,408 sq ft ninth floor is now under
offer. The sixth and seventh floors of 37,880 sq ft are let to Partners Group,
a leading private equity firm, and there is good interest in the remaining
space.

Final residential sale completed at Barts Square

·   At Barts Square, EC1 we have completed the sale of the final residential
apartment in this 236-unit residential scheme.

 

Continued strong rent collection

 

·   As at 12 July 2023, we had collected 97.4% of the June quarter rent and
expect to collect a further 1.5% via agreed payment plans, with the remaining
1.1% under discussion.

 

Financing

 

Sustainably Linked £400m Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF")

 

At 30 June 2023, the Group had drawn £230m under its RCF with an effective
interest rate of 3.0% and a maturity of 3.1 years. The RCF benefits from
interest rate swaps at an average of 0.9% plus margin on 100% of the drawn
amount for the remaining term of the facility to July 2026.

 

Other Facilities

 

In our joint ventures, we had drawn £61.2m of the £69.9m (our share)
facility with PIMCO to develop The JJ Mack Building, EC1. Following practical
completion of the development on 30 September 2022, the effective interest
rate on the loan is 4.2%, including commitment fees on the undrawn amount,
reducing to 2.25% when fully let.

 

At 30 June 2023, the Group had c.£49m of cash and £189m of undrawn loan
facilities with an overall weighted average cost of debt of 3.3% and an
average maturity of 2.6 years.

Sustainability

 

We are progressing well against our sustainability commitment and in
recognition of this were included in Financial Times’ list of Europe’s
Climate Leaders, which ranks the top 500 companies in Europe that are
delivering on their Climate Change commitments. Furthermore, we completed the
first assessment period of the sustainability targets in our RCF and
successfully met all three KPIs, resulting in a three basis point reduction in
the margin for the next 12 months.

 

Dividend

 

The final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2023 of 8.70p, if approved by
Shareholders at the AGM later today, will be paid on 28 July 2023. This will
take the total dividend for the year to 11.75p (2022: 11.15p).

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Helical plc
 Gerald Kaye (CEO)  Address: 5 Hanover Square, London W1S 1HQ
 Tim Murphy (CFO)   Website: www.helical.co.uk (http://www.helical.co.uk)

                    Tel: 020 7629 0113

 FTI Consulting
 Dido Laurimore     Tel: 020 3727 1000

 Richard Gotla

 Andrew Davis

Schelical@fticonsulting.com (mailto:Schelical@fticonsulting.com)

 

 

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