Helical (LSE:HLCL) said on Friday that it has returned approximately £17m to shareholders since May, following the £333m sale of its 100 New Bridge Street office to State Street Corporation that crystallised a £31m profit for the London-focused property developer.
The capital return, covering the period from 1 April to 22 October, comprised a £12m B Share Scheme paying 9.72p per existing ordinary share and a £5m share buyback that acquired 2.55m shares at a weighted average price of 196.33p, a 44% discount to the 31 March EPRA Net Tangible Asset value of 351p per share.
Helical also paid a final dividend of 1.00p for the year ended 31 March, taking total dividend for that year to 2.50p.
The trading update, issued ahead of half-year results due on Wednesday 25 November, also disclosed a new letting at Brettenham House, the company's 128,000 sq ft Art Deco office redevelopment in central London, where it has exchanged an agreement for lease with FGS Global for 23,887 sq ft across three floors, with rents in excess of £140 per sq ft on the best space.
The 10-year lease commences in January 2027, and Helical said the letting establishes a rental benchmark that supports leasing of the remaining space following the building's formal launch earlier in October; Helical delivers the project for Thames Brettenham under a development management agreement with a profit share linked to leasing performance.
"The Period has seen tangible progress across the business, with a major letting secured at Brettenham House, positive asset management activities delivered at The Bower and capital successfully returned to Shareholders," said chief executive Matthew Bonning-Snook.
Elsewhere in the development pipeline, the 142,000 sq ft 10 King William Street scheme in the City remains on course for practical completion in December, while the 240,000 sq ft Delta Paddington office development above Paddington Station continues construction on schedule toward targeted completion in the third quarter of 2028, backed by the £220m debt facility secured with Mace as main contractor.
At the Southwark joint venture, where a 429-bed student accommodation scheme has been forward funded by Places for London and an adjoining affordable residential element forward sold to Southwark Borough Council, Gateway 2 approval is expected in November; that approval would trigger reimbursement of Helical's costs and a first profit payment to the company totalling £15.5m, with delivery still targeted for the start of the 2029/30 academic year.
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At The Bower, the London office campus where recent lettings and re-gears have already lifted occupancy to around 96.6%, Helical has completed further transactions since April totalling 32,000 sq ft of new lettings adding £2.4m of contracted rental income, alongside regears on 50,000 sq ft capturing an additional £0.3m of reversion.
The company also agreed an early surrender of leases over the first and second floors of The Warehouse at The Bower, securing payment of rent due to the original June 2027 expiry plus a dilapidations payment, with the first floor already under offer ahead of a planned April 2027 completion.
Helical exercised the one-year extension option on its £200m revolving credit facility during the period, resetting maturity to September 2029, with associated interest rate hedging extended to match and the notional hedged amount set to rise from the £125m currently drawn to £175m by the financial year end at an average rate of 2.1%.