Reaction of 3-(2-pyridyl)pyrazole with 3,3′-bis(bromomethyl)biphenyl resulted in the new ligand L¹ which contains two bidentate chelating pyrazolyl/pyridine fragments separated by a meta-biphenyl spacer; this ligand is designed to act only as a bridging ligand, as the two bidentate sites are too far apart to co-ordinate to the same metal ion. The dinuclear copper(II) complex [Cu₂(L¹)₂(OAc)₂][BF₄]₂ is a double helicate in which each copper(II) centre is in a square pyramidal co-ordination geometry, arising from two bidentate pyrazolyl/pyridine groups (one from each ligand L¹) and a monodentate acetate. The structure is stabilised by extensive inter-ligand π-stacking interactions. The complex [Ag₂(L¹)₂][ClO₄]₂ is also assumed to be a double helicate. In contrast, reaction with Co^II afforded the tetranuclear cage complex [Co₄(L¹)₆][BF₄]₈, in which each bridging ligand links two metal centres by spanning one edge of the Co₄ tetrahedron. Each metal is therefore in a pseudo-octahedral tris-chelate geometry, with the three bidentate chelating arms each coming from a different ligand L¹. Again there is substantial inter-ligand π stacking. Unlike other complexes with the same {M₄L₆} tetrahedral cage structure, the central cavity is not occupied by a counter ion, showing that although the templating effect of a counter ion can be beneficial in the assembly of such cages it is clearly not essential. ¹H NMR spectroscopy suggests that there is a mixture of species in solution arising from other metal∶ligand combinations; ¹¹B NMR spectroscopy shows that at −40 °C a [BF₄]⁻ anion can become trapped in the cavity of the cage, giving a characteristic high-field resonance in addition to that for the free [BF₄]⁻ anions. Reaction of L¹ with Pd^II afforded a mixture of products arising from ligand decomposition, of which [Pd₂(L¹)(pypz)₂][BF₄][OH] was structurally characterised. It has a near-planar {Pd₂(μ-pypz)₂}²⁺ core [Hpypz = 3-(2-pyridyl)pyrazole, which has arisen from decomposition of L¹] with an additional bridging ligand L¹ co-ordinating in a ‘basket-handle’ mode, straddling the central core.