LONDON (Alliance News) - Property developer Helical Bar PLC on Thursday announced the appointment of a new chief executive and said its current boss will become chairman, as its pretax profit in the first half doubled on revaluation gains and higher revenue.
Helical Bar said Mike Slade, its current chief executive, will step down following the company's annual general meeting in July 2016 and will move to the role of non-executive chairman.
Gerald Kaye, currently development director of the business, will then become chief executive, replacing Slade. Kaye has been with the company since 1994.
The reshuffle came as the group said its pretax profit for the half to the end of September rose to GBP85.9 million, compared to GBP42.8 million a year earlier. The group made a GBP42.3 million net gain on the revaluation of its properties in the half, compared to a GBP23.1 million gain a year earlier, while the group also got a GBP31.8 million boost from its joint ventures, up from GBP12.9 million.
Revenue rose to GBP58.3 million from GBP39.7 million, while net rental income for the group improved to GBP20.0 million from GBP16.4 million.
Helical Bar will pay an interim dividend of 2.30 pence per share, up from 2.10p.
The valuation gain was driven by the group's London portfolio, which makes up the majority of its assets, though rent and the size of its regional portfolio also increased. The group said it is seeking to increase its commitment to London by retaining its development and refurbishment schemes, which it may have sold on in the past. This includes The Bower, a mixed-use development in Old Street in east London, which Helical struck a deal to take full control of for GBP248.0 million last week.
"Our portfolio is primarily targeted towards London for capital growth and development profits, and the regions for high yielding investment assets and trading profits. London continues to deliver strong returns and the company is looking to increase its commitment to London by retaining its refurbishment schemes at C-Space, Charterhouse Square and, most notably, The Bower," said CEO Slade.
"Our larger balance sheet and our belief that the London office market will show continued growth has encouraged the company to increase its exposure to locations which we believe will outperform," he added.
Shares in Helical Bar were down 1.5% to 453.00p on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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Helical Bar (HLCL)