The ligand neopentyl 2,6-bis[(1-methylbenzimidazol-2-yl)]-pyridine-4-carboxylate (L 12 ) has been synthesised to test the effect of the chiral neopentyl ester group in the 4-position of the pyridine ring on (i) the helical wrapping, (ii) the diastereomeric induction and (iii) the thermodynamic and photophysical properties of the [Ln(L 12 ) 3 ] 3+ complexes. The crystal structure of ligand L 12 shows the expected trans-trans conformation of the tridentate binding unit. The ligand forms stable 1:3 complexes in anhydrous acetonitrile (logβ 3 in the range 17.3−19.0, logK 3 in the range 2.9−4.6). The triple helical structure in solution is responsible for the four times