#Update* Battersea Phase One secures RM3.13b sales

KUALA LUMPUR: The first phase of the Battersea project, launched in January this year, has received an overwhelming response from overseas and Malaysian buyers with 824 units worth £681 million (RM3.13 billion) sold.

This represents a 95% success rate for the first phase, known as Circus West, which offers a total of 866 units of apartments and townhouses in the heart of London, project manager, Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) CEO Rob Tincknell said in a statement yesterday. Construction of Circus West is expected to commence in July this year, with completion of Phase One anticipated to be in 2016/17.

The Battersea Power Station project will be developed over 15 years in eight phases, with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM40 billion. The first phase was reported to have a GDV of around £900 million (RM4.13 billion).

“Since our UK launch in early January, we’ve seen phenomenal interest which has continued unabated over the last few months, enabling us to secure committed sales of £681 million to date, making Circus West at Battersea Power Station one of the fastest selling developments in London in recent years,Tincknell said.

The Malaysian consortium of S P Setia Bhd, Sime Darby Property and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) successfully purchased the old iconic Battersea Power Station for £400 million in September last year.

S P Setia and Sime Darby Property each have a 40% stake in the project, while the EPF owns the remaining 20%.

Tincknell said the first substantial new structure to be built on the site — The Pavilion — is set to open in July 2013. The Pavilion,is a three-storey building which will act as a customer service centre for existing purchasers as well as a sales building for future phases.

Tincknell said regeneration of the world-renowned Battersea Power Station is a unique proposition and a key element of the extensive redevelopment of Nine Elms on London’s South Bank.

It is the designated town centre for the area, with a new High Street and tube station to be served by the Northern Line Extension of the London Underground.

“The redevelopment will deliver a genuine mix of residential, retail and recreational opportunities alongside riverside landscaping and space for the arts, providing a destination for people to live, work and socialise,” the company said.

S P Setia president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin had said earlier the consortium targeted to sell at least 800 units of Circus West within six months after the launch.

The 824 units that the consortium has secured to date means it has managed to beat the target by more than a month.  

Sime Darby expects at least RM100 million to flow into its coffers from the first phase of the Battersea project, which will contribute significantly to the conglomerate’s earnings for the 2016 financial year.

President and group chief executive Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh had earlier said 30% of the sales came from the UK, 45% came from Malaysia and 25% from other parts of the world.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 21, 2013.