Helical raises funds to buy property

Helical Bar has raised £29m in a new share placement. It sold 10.73m shares, equivalent to about 10 percent of the property investor and developer’s total share capital. The company raised the money to help fund real estate opportunities.

JP Morgan Cazenove placed the shares at 270p each, a slight discount on yesterday’s trading price of about 275p but above the company’s first-half net asset value of 261p at the end of September.

Mike Slade, chief executive, who has a knack for timing property cycles right was reported to have commented on: “a notable uptick in the number and quality of potential opportunities”.

Banks sorting out distressed portfolios are providing buying opportunities, as are over-leveraged private property companies, and institutions needing to secure sales to fund new deals. Slade said Helical Bar was “happy to pick up the droppings” from such transactions.