Helical and Places for London seal £220m
for Paddington Overstation Office

Above the tracks, big things are happening. Helical and Places for London have locked in a £220 million development facility with Pimco Prime Real Estate to bring one of the capital’s most anticipated Over Station schemes to life. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Rising above Paddington Station, this 235,000 sq ft landmark is set to deliver best-in-class office spaces, with sustainability front and centre, in one of the city’s most plugged-in locations.

With a 4.5-year, £220 million facility already in the bag, the joint venture has the green light to snap up the site later this month for £55 million, with Helical’s stake alone tipping the scales at £28.1 million.

Ownership officially changes hands on February 25th, signalling a milestone for a scheme set to make waves across London. As the second of three initial sites in the partnership, Paddington OSD follows Helical’s successful bid to become Places for London’s commercial development partner.

Designed by Grimshaw, the building pairs scale with precision. Illuminated, flexible offices stretch across 15 floors, boasting full-height glazing, private south-facing terraces, and sweeping London views. Floorplates of 15,675 sq ft with minimal columns offer efficient, adaptable space for a broad range of occupiers.

Sustainability is central to the scheme, which has achieved BREEAM Outstanding at design stage and is targeting WELL Platinum, EPC A and NABERS 5.5*. Supported by a facility funding 54.5% of invested equity and remaining development costs, the project brings together high environmental standards and considered, occupier-led design.

For Helical, the deal represents more than just numbers. “The progress made on the Paddington OSD bolsters our pipeline of prime London developments and maintains the momentum we have built through our partnership with Places for London,” says James Moss, CFO of Helical. “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, CFO of 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.

Indeed, anchored at Paddington Station’s northern entrance and catching eye of the Grand Union Canal, the development lands at the very heart of one of London’s busiest transport hubs. With the Elizabeth Line, Underground, and National Rail practically at its doorstep, it sits at the crossroads of movement, commerce, and regeneration, a spot that has been shaping Paddington’s story for over a century.

Main works are expected to commence in Q2 2026, with completion targeted for 2028, delivering into a highly constrained office market where demand for premium, sustainable space continues to outpace supply.

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