16.10.09

By Laura Chesters

Mike Slade’s company to manage City office complex at 200 Aldersgate

Helical Bar is on the verge of a return to the City of London office market.

The listed developer, headed by Mike Slade, is about to be appointed by Hypo Real Estate’s owner, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, to manage City office scheme “Little Britain” on behalf of the bank.

A deal that would involve Helical advising and asset managing the near-vacant complex at 200 Aldersgate is close to being finalised.

Last month at the Movers and Shakers property networking club, Slade said he was “close to thinking it was time to start developing in the City.

“What I like is that no bank is lending on development,” he said. “I look at the City and lick my lips.”

Helical’s only other City exposure is its tie-up with Man Group, the world’s largest hedge fund manager, to develop a global headquarters at the City of London-owned Riverbank House and its site assembly work for Ansbacher on a new application for a Mitre Square development.

As revealed by Property Week on 24.07.09 (above), lender Hypo and owner of the scheme RREEF, the property fund management arm of Deutsche Bank, had been locked in discussions about restructuring the debt secured against the 474,000 sq ft Little Britain complex.

In 2005 RREEF used debt from Hypo to finance its purchase and extensively refurbish it.

Prospective investors, fund managers and other parties were approached during the summer to assess interest in several options for the complex.

Bought from Canary Wharf Group, it is held in RREEF’s closed-ended Real Estate Opportunities Fund II.

In 2005 RREEF appointed Allied London as development manager for a refurbishment of the property, which is thought to have cost more than £60m. Allied has not been involved with the scheme for several months.

The completion of the redevelopment was carried out in phases from May last year, which coincided with a severe downturn in the City’s occupational market.

The property will have been badly affected by the decline in values and it is thought the loan will be very close to breaching any covenants if it has not already done so.

RREEF and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank declined to comment. Helical was unavailable for comment.

Source: Property Week (www.propertyweek.co.uk)