Helical’s premium portfolio continues to attract new tenants with 244,000 sq ft of lettings in london & manchester since april 2019.
Chief Executive
We have made good progress in the first half of the financial year by attracting new tenants to 172,860 sq ft of space, generating £3.9m (our share) of contracted rental income, and since 30 September 2019 have let a further 71,525 sq ft, generating an additional £2.1m of rental income for the Group. As we let the remaining 121,000 sq ft of available space and the 99,000 sq ft of developments due to achieve practical completion by January 2020, we will make significant headway towards capturing the portfolio’s see-through ERV of £59.6m. The success we have had since 1 April this year underpins our belief that the enduring quality and location of our buildings will continue to attract tenants, boosting our earnings and dividend cover.
“We remain a Company focused on the creation of capital profits through the development and letting of the high quality office space that today’s occupiers are seeking. Our current portfolio will continue to generate such profits as it reaches its fully let and stabilised potential. Further growth is dependent on the Group unearthing new opportunities and management’s efforts are focused on achieving this. With our experience and track record, we are confident in our ability to add to our pipeline and to continue the growth of Helical.”
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
- Acquisition of a major development opportunity with the purchase of 33 Charterhouse Street, London EC1, a c.200,000 sq ft office development site next to Farringdon station, in a 50:50 joint venture with AshbyCapital.
- Secured 133,218 sq ft of new London office lettings delivering contracted rent of £9.8m (Helical’s share £3.0m at 5.9% above 31 March 2019 ERV).
- Post half year end, let a further 69,581 sq ft of London office space delivering £5.6m of contracted rents (Helical’s share £2.1m at 3.2% above 31 March 2019 ERV).
- In Manchester, five office lettings achieved on 39,642 sq ft, generating rental income of £0.9m at 1.6% above 31 March 2019 ERV, with a further 1,944 sq ft let post period end in line with 31 March 2019 ERV.
- Completed the sale of two units in the first phase of residential at Barts Square, EC1 with a further unit completed since the period end, leaving just seven units available for sale. In the final phase, exchanged contracts for the sale of a further seven units and exchanged on one further unit since the period end, taking the total number of units exchanged to 45. These sales are due to complete by February 2020.
- Sale of Helical’s 10% shareholding in One Creechurch Place to our joint venture partner, completing our involvement in the development.
- We increased and extended our Revolving Credit Facility to £400m, providing an additional £50m of firepower for acquisitions.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Earnings
- IFRS basic earnings per share of 11.7p (2018: 21.8p).
- IFRS Profit before tax of £13.1m (2018: £29.1m).
- Total Accounting Return1 of 2.7% (2018: 5.1%).
- See-through Total Property Return1 of £28.6m (2018: £43.2m):
- Group’s share1 of net rental income of £13.0m (2018: £11.7m).
- Development profits of £5.7m (2018: losses of £2.1m), after provisions of £1.2m (2018: £6.2m).
- Net gain on sale and revaluation of investment properties of £9.9m (2018: £33.6m).
- EPRA earnings per share1 of 5.4p (2018: loss of 4.6p).
- Interim dividend declared of 2.70p per share (2018: 2.60p), up 3.8%.
Balance Sheet
- Net asset value up 1.1% to £573.7m (31 March 2019: £567.4m).
- EPRA net asset value per share1 up 0.8% to 486p (31 March 2019: 482p).
- EPRA triple net asset value per share1 up 0.2% to 466p (31 March 2019: 465p).
Property Valuations
- IFRS property portfolio value of £836.1m (31 March 2019: £793.6m).
- See-through property portfolio1 of £955.8m (31 March 2019: £876.4m).
- See-through investment property valuation gain, on a like-for-like basis, of 1.5% (1.4% including purchases and gains on sales).
Financing
- See-through loan to value1 of 35.3% (31 March 2019: 30.6%).
- See-through net borrowings1 of £337.4m (31 March 2019: £268.6m).
- Average maturity of the Group’s share1 of secured debt of 4.5 years (31 March 2019: 3.4 years), increasing to 5.6 years, on exercise of options to extend current facilities.
- See-through average cost of borrowings1 of 3.5% (31 March 2019: 4.0%).
PORTFOLIO UPDATE
London Portfolio
- 8% valuation increase, on a like-for-like basis, valued at £773.9m at 30 September 2019 (85.9% of investment portfolio) compared to £693.8m at 31 March 2019 (85.0% of investment portfolio).
- Contracted rents of £30.2m (31 March 2019: £27.5m) growing to an ERV of £50.4m (31 March 2019: £42.4m).
- WAULT of 7.4 years (31 March 2019: 8.0 years).
Manchester Portfolio
- Valuation of investment portfolio remained unchanged, on a like-for-like basis, at £127.0m at 30 September 2019 (14.1% of investment portfolio) compared to £122.7m at 31 March 2019 (15% of investment portfolio) after taking into account capital expenditure.
- Contracted rents increased to £6.1m (31 March 2019: £5.7m) growing to an ERV of £9.1m (31 March 2019: £9.0m).
- WAULT of 4.3 years (31 March 2019: 3.9 years).
HALF YEAR RESULTS PRESENTATION
Helical will be holding a presentation for analysts and investors starting at 9am on Thursday 21 November 2019 at the offices of FTI Consulting, 200 Aldersgate, Aldersgate Street, London, EC1A 4HD. If you would like to attend, please contact FTI Consulting on 020 3727 1000, or email [email protected].
The presentation will be on the Company’s website www.helical.co.uk and a conference call facility will be available. The dial-in details are as follows:
Participants, Local – London, United Kingdom: +44 (0)330 336 9411
Confirmation Code: 8746796
Webcast Link:
https://webcasting.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/5d91c523cbe3ca44a572e3b2