Embattled developer Kent Swig is considering unloading storied commercial-office firm Helmsley Spear as his real estate empire continues to crumble amid a punishing financial squeeze.
A source familiar with the matter told The Post that Swig has said he’s looking for “someone to take it off his hands,” referring to a firm once run by legendary industry giant Harry Helmsley. Other sources said Swig and another investor have approached parties about either investing in the firm or selling it.
Swig did not return e-mails or calls seeking comment, but a spokesman insisted he’s not shutting down Helmsley Spear, which first opened its doors in 1866, and though a fraction of its former self, continues to offer private building-management services, commercial sales and investment and leasing services.
“Helmsley Spear is not closing,” the spokesman said. “We are seeking a recapitalization of the third-party services division and the company is continuing its focus on its principal side of the business — acquisitions. The firm has been continuously operating for 140 years through the best and most difficult of times and will continue to do so.”
Finding a resolution for Helmsley Spear comes as Swig struggles to keep his empire intact during a souring property market.
Swig picked up the firm in 2007 with designs on returning it to its former glory. As he told The Post at the time, “Frankly, one thing I hope to bring is a new energy, focus and discipline to allow the company to expand.”
However, he immediately faced a tanking economy and personal-financial pressure from several failed projects, including 25 Broad St., a ready-to-sell downtown conversion that was mired in the Lehman bankruptcy, and the notorious Sheffield57 conversion on West 57th Street, where Swig has said he may face personal bankruptcy over guaranteed loans tied to the project.
It remains an open question whether there are any takers for the firm, which has 30 brokers.
“It’s so insignificant I’m not sure who would want to own it,” sniffed the boss at one brokerage.
One exec said the Helmsley name these days carries a “negative connotation” due to Leona Helmsley’s moniker as the “Queen of Mean.”
That the firm’s fate remains up in the air is a surprising turn of events for the company, which at one time represented the Helmsley family’s extensive portfolio among others.
Helmsley Spear came under Harry Helmsley’s control in 1955. After his death in 1997, his wife Leona was involved in protracted legal battles with other partners who eventually gained a majority of the company and pushed her out.
For his part, Swig has done better with Brown Harris Stevens, the residential and brokerage arm of Helmsley Equities that he, the Zeckendorf brothers, and other partners bought in 1995.
In addition, his eponymous company, Swig Equities, owns more than 4 million square feet of office space nationwide, and more than 1,200 apartments in New York.
