Helical and joint venture partner Places for London have secured a £220m development financing facility from PIMCO Prime Real Estate to fund the acquisition and development of flagship offices above Paddington station.
The JV plans to start construction of the over-station development in Q2
The loan has been agreed ahead of the Helical’s £55m acquisition of the site from Places for London, which is set to be completed on 25 February. PIMCO acted on behalf of unnamed institutional investors.
The Paddington Over Station Development (ODS) will include 235,000 sq ft of office space directly above the northern entrance to Paddington Station.
Designed by Grimshaw, the building will total 15 floors of best-in-class workspace with floorplates of 15,675 sq ft. The scheme has achieved a BREEAM Outstanding rating and is targeting WELL Shell & Core Platinum and EPC ‘A’ ratings.
Enabling works started last June and the JV is now in advanced negotiations with a prospective main contractor ahead of main works starting in Q2 2026. Completion is being targeted for Q3 2028.
The JV said the development facility will reimburse the 54.5% of equity already invested in the project, including acquisition costs, and fund 54.5% of the remaining development and finance costs.
The 4.5-year development facility contains step-downs linked to milestones at the development and letting stages, as well as a one-year extension option.
The move follows Helical’s successful bid to become the commercial partner of Places for London, Transport for London’s property company. Paddington OSD is the second of three initial sites to be acquired by the JV.
Helical chief financial officer James Moss said: “The progress made on the Paddington OSD bolsters our pipeline of prime London developments and maintains the momentum we have built up through our partnership with Places for London.
“Successfully closing the financing, which is accretive to returns, follows the financing of 10 King William Street last year. It further demonstrates strong lender confidence in the joint venture and its strategy and supports our long-term conviction in demand for high-quality office space in central London.”
Digby Nicklin, chief financial officer at Places for London, added: “We are delighted to be working with PIMCO Prime Real Estate, acting on behalf of institutional investors, on this well-structured debt facility agreement which will help bring this development to life.
“Great developments like this are key to our wider Places for Growth pledge: growing long-term income for Transport for London that can be invested into the public transport network, bringing improvement and growth to the capital.”
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