Property group Helical Bar is seeking to raise nearly £30 million to take advantage of potential acquisition opportunities in the sector.

Property group Helical Bar is seeking to raise nearly £30 million to take advantage of potential acquisition opportunities in the sector.

The fully listed company says the number and price of the shares to be offered in a placing to existing shareholders and ‘other institutions’ depends on the outcome of a book-building exercise conducted by adviser JPMorgan Cazenove, but the indication is that it would amount to almost ten per cent of the company’s capital.

Chief executive Mike Slade, who says Helical “continues to make steady progress on its existing pipeline of projects” even in today’s turbulent conditions, says many tempting opportunities are beginning to appear.

With the IPD UK property index down 36 per cent from its 2007 peak, amid mounting tenant defaults, falling rental values, a lack of finance and an illiquid investment market, Helical, which increased pre-tax profits nearly 70 per cent to £12.7 million in the half-year to September, expects the banks to take control of many property assets.

The company says it will wait with interest to see what the banks then do with them.

According to Slade, it has so far been “prudent” to delay making acquisitions in a falling market. However, he says that he and his fellow directors “remain convinced that compelling value lies ahead of us as prices fall considerably below equilibrium levels”.