Our team

About Richard

Richard Cotton was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in March 2016 and as Senior Independent Director in February 2018. On 14 July 2022, Richard assumed the role of Board Chairman. 

Richard has a wide range of experience in both executive and non-executive roles at a number of quoted and unquoted companies. Richard was formerly head of UK Real Estate at J.P. Morgan Cazenove, a position he held until 2009, and he spent five subsequent years as Managing Director of Forum Partners. Richard has also previously held the position of Chairman of Centurion Properties and was a Non- Executive Director of Hansteen Holdings plc.

His experience in the financial sector, together with his knowledge and skills in property, strengthens the overall expertise of the Board. He is a key contributor to the firm’s strategic discussions, and his knowledge of the financial services industry is frequently drawn upon in Board discussions and assists the Board in decision making.

His appointment as the Group’s Chairman is underpinned by his extensive board experience and understanding of stakeholder interests.

Other current external appointments

• Non-Executive Director of Big Yellow Group plc
• Member of the Commercial Development Advisory Group at Transport for London
• Non-Executive Director of Target Healthcare REIT plc (announced 12 October 2022 and effective 1 November 2022)

About Gerald

Gerald Kaye, BSc (Est Man) FRICS, was appointed Chief Executive in 2016. He joined the Board as an Executive Director in 1994, responsible for the Group’s development activities.

Gerald is a past President of the British Council for Offices, a former Director of London & Edinburgh Trust Plc and former Chief Executive of SPP. LET. EUROPE NV.

Gerald’s experience at Helical ensures that he has an in-depth knowledge of the Group’s operations and markets, which helps him to lead the business, be a key contributor to Board discussions and aid the effective decision making of the Board.

He considers stakeholder engagement to be a crucial aspect of his role given its impact on the long-term success of Helical, and he therefore spends considerable time engaging with our major shareholders, visiting the Group’s properties and development sites and maintaining extensive relationships in the property industry.

Other current external appointments:

• Member of the Investment Committee at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation

About Tim

Tim Murphy, BA (Hons) FCA, joined the Group in 1994 and became Chief Financial Officer of the Company in 2012. He is responsible for the financial statements, financial reporting, treasury and taxation. Before joining Helical Tim worked at the financial and professional services firm Grant Thornton.

Tim is a highly experienced financial practitioner with significant sector knowledge, both technical and commercial.

Tim is experienced in working with boards and management teams in respect of financial and commercial management, reporting, and risk and control frameworks. These experiences make Tim particularly well-placed to contribute to the Group’s broader strategic agenda and further the sustainable success of the business.

About Matthew

Matthew Bonning-Snook, BSc (Urb Est Surveying) MRICS, was appointed to the Board as an Executive Director in 2007. Prior to joining Helical in 1995, he was a Development Agent and Consultant at Richard Ellis (now CBRE).

Matthew’s long tenure with the Group, detailed knowledge of the London property market and his extensive network of contacts within the industry means that he has valuable knowledge and insight to promote and contribute to the Group’s strategy.

In 2019, the Board appointed Matthew as Chair of the Sustainability Committee and he leads our commitment to measuring and improving Helical’s corporate ESG performance against external industry benchmarks. Matthew’s valuable contributions to the long-term sustainable success of the business are therefore evident, both in his skill and experience as a property development executive but also in his leadership of the Group’s sustainability initiatives.

About Sue

Sue Clayton, FRICS, was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in February 2016.

In 2019, the Board appointed Sue as the designated Non-Executive Director for workforce engagement and she has engaged directly with members of the workforce on a regular basis throughout the year. Our workforce are key to our strategy and long-term sustainable success and Sue’s role thus contributes to the strategic aims of the Company.

On 14 July 2022, Sue assumed the role of Senior Independent Director and her appointment as the Group’s is underpinned by her extensive board experience and understanding of stakeholder interests.

Sue has over 30 years of experience in UK investment markets. She is a former Managing Director of CBRE’s Capital Markets Team and has sat on the CBRE UK Management and Executive Boards. She also held the position of Employee Director on the CBRE Group Inc. Board. Sue started her career as a graduate with Richard Ellis (now CBRE) and worked in Valuation and Fund Management before moving into Investment Agency.

Sue is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and her extensive commercial experience in the property industry and knowledge of the UK property market renders her a highly valuable contributor to the Group’s strategy. It is also through her skills and experience in the field of property valuation that she provides a significant contribution to the effectiveness of the Group’s governance structure, especially with respect to the work of the Property Valuations Committee.

Other current external appointments:

• Board Member of the Committee of Management of Hermes Property Unit Trust
• Non-Executive Director of SEGRO plc

About Sue

Sue contributes considerable knowledge, skill and experience to the Board and its Committees, particularly in the areas of marketing, branding and consumer issues, which are key areas of focus for the Board and important for the continued success of our business.

Sue is the Chair of the Remuneration Committee and has served on the boards of a diverse range of companies and has experience on other remuneration committees, both as a member and Chair. Her effectiveness as Chair is bolstered by her understanding of employee and wider business perspectives and her ability to consider the consequences of remuneration decisions. She is also a member of the Audit and Risk and Nominations Committees.

In May 2021, the Board appointed Sue as the designated Non-Executive Director for ESG & Sustainability and she plays a key role in monitoring Helical’s Culture and ensuring its alignment with Company strategy to support the long-term sustainable success of the business.

Sue is a former Chair of both the Marketing Society and the Marketing Group of Great Britain. In 2003, Sue joined the Chime Group, where she was Chair of the Advertising and Marketing Services Division and Strategic and Business Development Director until 2015, and served as a Special Advisor to their Board until July 2020. Prior to joining the Chime Group, Sue served as Marketing Director of the BBC for seven years, Director of Corporate Affairs at Thames Television for three years and Director of Corporate Communications at Vauxhall Motors. Sue has also served as a Non-Executive Director for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc, New Look plc, Dairy Crest plc, Dolphin Capital Partners and Historic Royal Palaces.

Other current external appointments:

• Senior Independent Director, British American Tobacco plc
• Non-Executive Director, Accsys Technologies PLC
• Non-Executive Director, Unlimited Marketing Group Ltd

About Joe

Joe Lister was appointed to the Board in September 2018 and as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee in July 2019. He is the Chief Financial Officer at Unite Group plc, a position he has held since January 2008 after joining the company in 2002. Prior to joining Unite Group plc, Joe qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In addition to being Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, Joe is a member of both the Nominations Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Joe is a key contributor in all aspects of the Group’s strategy, and he brings a wealth of experience and insight into the effect that strategic changes might have on the property sector and consequently, the long-term success of the business. He has a strong financial background, having qualified as a chartered accountant, and is highly knowledgeable and experienced in risk management in the property sector. His background therefore enables him to effectively perform the role of Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Helical. Furthermore, he is an experienced listed company director and contributes helpful insights to shareholder relations offering differing perspectives gained through his experience as a member of the executive management team at Unite Group plc.

Other current external appointments
• Executive Director, Unite Group plc

About James

James Moss, MChem (Hons) (Oxon) FCA, joined Helical in September 2014 and was appointed to the Executive Committee in March 2018. He was previously at Grant Thornton, where he was responsible for leading audit and other assurance assignments in their Real Estate sector.

James has a broad range of responsibilities, contributing to setting and delivering Helical’s strategy and ensuring its operational and financial effectiveness.  As Group Company Secretary, he is responsible corporate governance and Board administration matters.

About Laura

Laura is Helical's Head of Sustainability and has been with the company since 2017. As a qualified accountant, she joined Helical as part of the Finance Team, however, her passion and interest for environmental issues saw her transition into a sustainability role. During her time at Helical she has successfully launched “Built for the Future”, the company’s sustainability strategy and has been an integral part of the team in delivering Helical’s “Net Zero Carbon Pathway” and “Designing for Net Zero”.

Laura is part of the Sustainability Committee and together with her fellow members champions sustainable practices in how Helical acquire, redevelop, manage and dispose of their assets. 

Outside work, Laura can be found walking her lurcher Zennor and seeking out North London’s best restaurants and pubs. When time allows she returns to her family home for mostly wet and windy walks along the South West Coast Path.

About Martin

Martin is Helical’s Group Tax Manager and joined the company in 2013.  He is responsible for the management of all the group’s taxes, including Corporation Tax, VAT, CIS and payroll.  Sitting within the wider finance team, his role covers both the calculation of tax provisions for management and statutory reporting purposes and the group’s ongoing tax compliance requirements.  Alongside this he provides support to the finance team in the production of the group’s annual and interim financial statements.

Martin also acts as the internal point of contact for Helical’s staff on matters such as pensions, employee benefits including healthcare and life insurance, share schemes, the cycle to work scheme and the payroll aspects of maternity leave.

Martin’s interests include cooking, wine, travel, walking, reading and music. He is always happy to be part of a quiz team and remains unswerving in his opinion that The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” is the greatest piece of popular music ever made by anyone.

About Nikki

Nikki is a Senior Development Executive at Helical and has been at the company since 2007. During her time at Helical she has been an integral part of the project team on some of the company’s most prominent schemes including Barts Square, The Bower, Kaleidoscope and most recently Helical’s newest acquisition at The JJ Mack Building.

She is experienced both in placemaking and branding and has combined these skills to create comprehensive and successful marketing and place-creation schemes with the aim and result of attracting and retaining the best tenants and occupiers and maximising values.

Nikki manages the letting of Helical’s central London retail, curating line ups to suit each scheme and building places that people really want to occupy.

Nikki is a keen cyclist and runner and lives in South London with her son. She sits on the boards of the City Property Association and Culture Mile and is passionate about enabling and encouraging women in property.

About Lesley

Lesley joined Helical in 2014 from an audit firm where she trained as a Chartered Accountant. Originally joining as Development Accountant, her role soon expanded to encompass the Joint Venture accounting function and more recently the preparation of the consolidated Group Accounts. As well as being a key member in the Annual Report production, Lesley also coordinates the day-to-day property accounting and the statutory subsidiary accounts. After studying (and enjoying!) accounting at school, Lesley finished off her education with a degree in Business Studies and Accounting from the University of Edinburgh and will probably never leave accounting behind.

Originally from rural Scotland, Lesley now enjoys living the city life in London, spending time with her girls (young daughter and Brie the dog), husband and any friends willing to also spend time with her girls!

About Andrew

Andy joined Helical in 2005 as a Development Accountant, responsible for accounting for the Group’s development schemes. In 2014 he became the Group Accountant. In his current role he is responsible for budgeting and forecasting and the quarterly management accounts, as well as the consolidation and analysis of the Group’s financial position. In addition, Andy plays a key role in delivering the Annual Report and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the finance team and accounts systems and processes.

In his spare time Andy enjoys watching football and cricket. Having tired of the gym, he has recently taken up cycling. He is also an occasional runner and has taken part in the Land Aid 10k run whenever possible.

About George

George joined Helical in 2023 as a Property Analyst, responsible for the analysis of potential transactions, monitoring the current portfolio throughout the investment lifecycle and assisting with corporate structuring matters.
 
After graduating from The University of St Andrews in 2018 (MSc), George started his career as an Investment Analyst at Ninety One, working across several multi-asset portfolios. Before joining Helical, he worked in research at a REIT and was responsible for providing property analysis and helping on corporate strategy.
 
Outside of the office, George enjoys playing and/or watching most sports with a particular passion for football and tennis. He plays tennis at a club in West London and recently helped form a Sunday league football club with a group of friends.

About Harriet

Harriet has been at the company since 2016 where her role as receptionist has extended to event management and company welfare. Harriet is one of Helical’s Mental Health First Aiders and enjoys supporting others and encouraging positive wellbeing.

When not at Helical, Harriet runs her own business as a freelance makeup artist and enjoys going to the gym.

About Eleanor

Eleanor joined Helical in November 2019, and her role covers all aspects of company secretarial work and various areas of operational governance.

She qualified as a solicitor and notary public in Scotland in September 2014 and was accepted as an Associate of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland in April 2019.

Since going to South Africa at the beginning of the year, Eleanor has compiled an enviable travel bucket list, including a visit to the Galapagos Islands, and gorilla trekking in the jungles of Rwanda and Uganda.

About John

John joined Helical from Cushman and Wakefield (then Healey & Baker) in 1995. He oversees the management of Helical's investment portfolio and has extensive experience in adding value through asset repositioning, design, refurbishment and leasing across a variety of commercial asset classes including more latterly residential.

In addition to his asset management role, John is also responsible for the Group’s insurance policies and procedures, is part of the Sustainability Committee and part of the Corporate Health & Safety team. John is also a Mental Health First Aider.

John holds a BSc Hons In Estate Management and is a Member of the RICS.  

In his spare time, John enjoys a variety of practical and outdoor oriented hobbies.

About Iveta

Iveta joined Helical in 2015 as an Accounts Administrator and her role covers a variety of responsibilities. She assists the Tax Manager with VAT returns and the CIS scheme and has sole responsibility for the company credit cards reconciliation and analysis. She also assists with the purchase ledger and periodically reviews and reconciles suppliers accounts. In addition, she has responsibility for monthly processing of many of the banking transactions.

Iveta was born in Slovakia where she studied at the Faculty of Humanities in Zilina and qualified as a Teacher of Mathematics/English Language & Literature. Iveta has a very busy life with her three young children but whenever possible she finds a moment for a good book or a film.

About Natalie

Natalie joined Helical in 2022 as a Personal Assistant supporting the Property Director Matthew Bonning-Snook and Senior Development Executives Pavlos Clifton and Nikki Dibley. 

Natalie studied Art and Design at London College of Fashion and began her career working as a fashion stylist for The Sunday Times Style. In 2015 Natalie studied yoga in the Himalayas and went on to teach the practice in Mexico City and Lisbon. Outside work she is a keen surfer and documentary film maker.

About Ann

Ann joined Helical in 1989 and manages Helical's Purchase Ledger. Ann is responsible for checking, coding and processing invoices, making payments, processing staff expenses, setting up new supplier accounts and maintaining existing account details. Ann is also responsible for the reconciliation of supplier statements, filing invoices and being first point of contact for relevant enquiries.

Ann is a fitness fanatic and exercises every day. Outside work Ann plays Walking Football for Leyton Orient and Steppers WOC WFC.

About Lucy

Lucy joined Helical in 2017 and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Lucy is actively involved in the financing decisions of the business, providing analysis and liaising with Lenders regarding Helical’s debt financing, to support and help inform Helical’s financial and operational strategy. Lucy is also responsible for treasury management, forecasting cashflow and profit as well as monitoring covenants and hedging strategies. In addition, she is an integral member of the team responsible for the listed group annual report and accounts.

Lucy lives in London and in her spare time enjoys spending time with friends and family. Lucy also enjoys musical theatre and has recently become a Formula 1 enthusiast. 

About Katie

Katie has worked at Helical since 2007 and is the Personal Assistant to Tim Murphy, John Inwood and James Moss. Her role includes providing a variety of property related support as well as the production of documents required for the Year End reporting and the project management of the Annual Report.

Katie is the Company’s Senior PA and prides herself on helping maintain the culture and wellbeing of staff at Helical.

When not looking after those in the office, Katie spends her time running around after her two sons and enjoying walks with her husband. Katie loves to ski, attend live music events and has a passion for food and wine.

About Shailen

Shailen joined Helical in April 2013 as a Management Accountant. Prior to joining Helical, Shailen started his career with Landsec where he held various roles including managing the Rent Accounts team. Shailen's initial responsibilities at Helical focused on streamlining reporting and processes between managing agents however during his time he has undertaken various tasks including loan covenant reporting, quarterly board papers, Covid-19 reporting and assisting with the annual financial statements.

Shailen's passions outside work mainly revolve around sports; during the summer he enjoys watching cricket at the London cricket grounds and has recently joined Harrow School Golf club to improve his golf handicap.

About Lois

Lois joined Helical in 2010 and her role spans business operations, communications and staff welfare. Lois runs Helical’s website and social media channels and manages Helical’s charity and community work and IT operations. Lois is passionate about wellbeing and inclusivity and enjoys assisting with the company’s HR needs. In 2023 she completed a CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management. 

Lois sits on Helical’s Sustainability Committee and is one of the company’s four Mental Health First Aiders.

Outside work Lois really enjoys going to the gym and learning to horse-ride and has recently transitioned from a reluctant to a keen cyclist. She is a keen sports spectator and is the very proud defending champion of Helical’s Fantasy Football league.

About Victoria

Victoria is a Personal Assistant at Helical having joined the company in March 2022. Victoria supports the Chief Executive, Gerald Kaye alongside Rob Sims and Francesca Young. With a background working in specialty line insurance covering the aviation, energy, marine and entertainment markets, as well as experience within renewable energy, Victoria was excited to move into the property world.

Outside the office Victoria spends a lot of time walking her dog (a chihuahua who would probably prefer a little less walking) and is a big fan of the theatre and live events with a wide-ranging taste in music. A keen traveller, she is looking forward to continuing her tour of Italy having already visited Venice, Rome, Milan, Florence, Positano and Sorrento.

About Rob

Rob is a Senior Property Executive at Helical predominately responsible for the execution of new transactions, corporate structuring related matters and financial/investment analysis across the portfolio. He is actively involved in the delivery of the significant redevelopment projects at 33 Charterhouse Street and 100 New Bridge Street.

Prior to joining Helical in 2018, Rob worked for PwC for 7 years in their Real Estate Deals practice providing M&A advice to a range of global clients. Whilst at PwC Rob qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Rob lives in Surrey and is a keen golfer and a long-suffering Southampton FC fan. He holds an MA in Economics from the University of St Andrews.

About Holly

Holly has been part of the Helical team since 2009, initially serving as a Personal Assistant. Holly took a career break to raise her children and returned to Helical on a part-time basis, managing reception duties while also stepping into the role of a temporary PA.

Beyond her professional commitments, Holly enjoys moments spent with her friends and family. Living in the vibrant city of London with her husband and two young children, she finds joy in exploring the bustling urban life that the city offers. However, can be found most weekends enjoying the coastal region where she grew up.

About Sian

Sian has been Head Receptionist since joining Helical in 2009. Sian enjoys running Helical’s front of house, meeting and greeting clients and organising the company events with her colleague Harriet. During her time at Helical Sian has arranged various social events including summer and Christmas parties, both in the UK and abroad, as well as many company charity events and fundraisers. 

Sian lives in Surrey with her family, and when she is not running around after her two young children, she can be found enjoying her garden.

About Francesca

Francesca joined Helical in 2012 and works in the asset management team, focussing on the London investment assets.

She is responsible for driving value in the existing portfolio through proactive management and leasing, creating and implementing strategic plans for the assets, and fostering strong occupier relationships.

Outside work Francesca enjoys travelling, true crime documentaries and walks with her cocker spaniel, Otto. She studied History & Politics prior to completing a Real Estate Masters degree at the College of Estate Management.