SP Setia aims to sell London Battersea Phase 1 within 6 months

SHAH ALAM (Nov 23): The Malaysian consortium leading the gargantuan London Battersea Power Power Station redevelopment project aims to sell the 800 apartment units in Phase 1 of the project within six months from welcoming orders in January 2013.

“We hope to sell all 800 units within six months… That will be a record as the highest a developer has sold in the UK is 200 units within six months of launch... We’re targeting an international audience,” SP Setia’s president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said.

“Sales start in January and we’ve planned a global marketing roadshow starting from Malaysia to Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei, Jakarta, Europe, Dubai, Istanbul (Turkey) and then finishing in UK in April, by which a show office will be ready [in London],” he told reporters on sidelines of the company’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) here today.

The EGM was to pass a proposed share placement of up to 15% of the company's issued share base to raise about RM1 billion for SP Setia to fund its overseas ventures and pare debt. Some RM350 million has been slated to partially fund its involvement with the Battersea project, while another RM200 million has been earmarked for its Qinzhou Industrial Park joint-venture in China.

The EGM lasted for less than 10 minutes, with the sole proposal passed within five minutes, Liew said.

SP Setia is developing the Battersea project with Sime Darby Bhd, with each holding a 40% stake, while the Employees Provident Fund Board (EPF) has a 20% stake.

The gross development value for Phase 1 is about one billion pounds (RM5 billion), Liew said. Besides 800 units of apartments, Phase 1 reportedly also has retail shops and restaurants.

Malaysians interested to know more about the London Battersea redevelopment project would be able to do so as early as month’s end when the Setia International Centre officially opens on Nov 28.

According to SP Setia officials, Setia International Centre -- located within SP Setia’s KL Eco City site in Abdullah Hukum, Kuala Lumpur -- will house the first showcase of the London Battersea project. The showcase will be manned by personnel from SP Setia as well as their partner Sime Darby.

When announcing the completion of the acquisition of the Battersea Power Station site In September this year, the consortium had said the GDV for the entire project to be completed within 10 to 15 years, is estimated at 8 billion pounds or RM40 billion. Planning permission for the project allows for a maximum of 3,266 private residential units, excluding another 175 units at the power station site.