London’s offices are lying dormant. Property investors are at home trying to guess when, maybe even whether, they will fill up again.
Social distancing will inhibit our lives for the rest of the year, leaving many offices operating at half-capacity — at best. Beyond that, an almighty recession looms.
That alarming backdrop largely explains the 21% slide in Helical’s shares this year. In January, the office owner’s market value was just a shade below its £566.7m net asset value, but the Covid-19 crisis has opened a yawning gap.
Over 35 years, Mike Slade transformed Helical — once Helical Bar — from a steel-maker into an influential real estate player. Last year Slade, 73, who had a penchant for dressing up as Alice Cooper for charity,