Mike Slade, property tycoon who supercharged Helical Bar’s profits while smashing records in sailing – obituary

After leaving school he found work selling homes in the Bahamas before studying at the College of Estate Management in London and training as a surveyor. Having recovered from a serious car accident that required spinal surgery in his early twenties, he established a joint venture in 1972 with the Equity & Law insurance company to develop commercial properties in continental Europe.

At Helical Bar, Slade moved from chief executive to chairman in 2016 and marked his retirement three years later with a reception at Claridge’s attended by a veritable Who’s Who of commercial property – his prominence reflecting not only his charisma and track record, but also his contribution to LandAid, the industry’s charity dedicated to tackling youth homelessness.

As LandAid’s president from 1996, he reinvigorated the organisation and helped it raise some £20 million. His own donations over the years rose towards £2 million, with a further £1 million pledged to a 146-bed hostel for vulnerable young people in Islington.

In charity as in business, Slade’s approach was never less than flamboyant. Collecting an award at a City livery dinner on what happened to be LandAid’s annual fundraising day, he arrived dressed as the Toy Story spaceman Buzz Lightyear. On another occasion he rode around Mayfair in a pedibus, costumed as a rocks tar with his “Helicalettes” backing group of glamorous colleagues.

Political correctness was not in Slade’s repertoire – he claimed to think that PC stood for “Please, Constable!” – but his commitment to charity was intense, extending to running several sponsored marathons. Other causes included the British Heart Foundation and Purley Park, a home for adults with learning difficulties where his brother John was a long-term resident.

In 2017 he chaired an appeal for the Royal Marsden’s Oak Cancer Centre at Sutton in Surrey. An initial target of £50 million increased to £70 million as the campaign advanced, funding an additional floor dedicated to rapid diagnostics; the state-of-the-art research and treatment centre opened in 2023.

There was also a charitable dimension to Slade’s maritime passion. He supported the RNLI and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, was vice-admiral of the Mary Rose Trust, and provided training opportunities on his yachts for young sailors who went on to represent Team GB.

The most unusual of his funding projects was Matthew, a replica of John Cabot’s ship that sailed from Bristol to Newfoundland in 1497, now moored beside SS Great Britain in Bristol harbour.

Mike Slade was appointed OBE for his charity work in 2019. He married, in 1972, Heather Davenport, who survives him with their daughter Kate and sons Max and Hugo.

​Mike Slade, born August 13 1946, died September 2 2026