Helical Bar Regulatory News (HLCL)

7 July 2020

Helical today provides an update on the March and June quarters rent collection.

Commenting, Chief Executive, Gerald Kaye, stated:

"Our rent collection statistics are a testament to our strong relationship with the tenants of our buildings and the quality of our Grade A portfolio. As "lockdown" continues to ease it is pleasing to see tenants returning to their offices in greater numbers and we will continue to help them transition back into our buildings, all of which have remained open throughout the Covid-19 pandemic."

March Quarter Day

In the lead up to the March quarter rent day, we engaged positively with tenants seeking solutions to their specific short-term cash flow concerns. For those in financial difficulty, we agreed to a monthly rent concession with the March quarter rent being paid monthly rather than quarterly. For the Food & Beverage (F&B) occupiers, we agreed to defer payment of rent to the next quarter day and, in some cases, have provided rent holidays.

As at 3 July 2020, we have now collected 94.2% of the March quarter rents, with a further 2.3% remaining to be paid in agreed instalments and 2.3% granted rent free periods. We continue to seek engagement on the remaining 1.2% of rent. In addition, we have collected 98.4% of the quarterly service charge from tenants.

June Quarter Day

Since the March quarter day, we have continued to engage with our tenants and, as part of the June rent collection process, wrote to all tenants offering to discuss with them any rent payment issues relating to Covid-19.

As at 3 July 2020, we have collected 76.2% of the June quarter rents, with a further 14.6% agreed to be paid in instalments in the period leading up to the September quarter day. We have granted rent free periods on 4.7% of the June rent, mainly in respect of F&B tenants. We therefore anticipate that by the end of the June quarter we will have collected between 90.8% and 95.3% of all contracted rent.

In addition, we have collected 76.8% of the quarterly service charge from tenants with the balance expected to be collected in the period to the September quarter day.

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