Joint venture partners Helical and Places for London have secured a £220m development financing facility from PIMCO Prime Real Estate to fund the acquisition and delivery of the Paddington over station office development.
The loan has been secured ahead of the acquisition of the site later this month for £55m from Places for London, which is Transport for London’s property company. The 4.5 year pari passu development facility contains margin step-downs linked to the achievement of development and letting milestones, as well as a one-year extension option.
Designed by Grimshaw, the 235,000 sq ft office scheme is positioned directly above the northern entrance to Paddington station, adjacent to and overlooking the Grand Union Canal. The scheme has achieved BREEAM Outstanding at the design stage and the JV partners are targeting WELL Shell & Core Platinum, EPC A and a NABERS 5.5* rating.
Having commenced enabling works in June 2025, the joint venture is now in advanced negotiations with the prospective main contractor and anticipates placing the contract in March 2026. Main works will commence in Q2 2026 with practical completion targeted in Q3 2028.
The Paddington development is the second of three initial sites to be acquired by the joint venture following Helical’s successful bid to be Places for London’s commercial development partner.
James Moss, chief financial officer at Helical, 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 the strong lender confidence in the joint venture and its strategy and supports our long‑term conviction in the ongoing 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. Together with Helical, we are looking forward to seeing this new, high quality office space take shape in Paddington, one of the best-connected parts of London.”
BCLP advised the lenders on the transaction.
