The sale of Battersea Power Station to SP Setia and Sime Darby
Battersea Power Station has for so long has been the saddest landmark in London. Since it was decommissioned as a power station in 1983, this Grade II* listed building designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott has rotted and various regeneration proposals have floundered.
Described by selling agents Knight Frank as: “The last large development site in prime central London,” it was announced on the 6th June that the joint receivers had entered into an exclusivity agreement with Malaysian property developers SP Setia and their partner Sime Darby.
In the course of marketing, the selling agents showed the site to almost a 100-interested parties in just two months. Of this, Stephan Miles-Brown, head of residential development at Knight Frank, commented:
”We were always quite positive but now we are more positive than when we started the process. What has surprised us has been the numbers, there have been an enormous number of individual visits.”
Amongst the other bidders were Chelsea Football Club but sadly their proposal to develop a 60,000-seater stadium on the 39-acre site was rejected along with 13 others. SP Setia and Sime Darby have agreed to pay £400 million for the site and will have to build a new underground station as part of their scheme.
Worryingly, on 11th June 2012, however, Liew Kee Sin, chief executive of SP Setia, stated:
“We don’t know what will happen over the next 28 days.”
Though Knight Frank are incredibly positive about their negotiations, one must ask: “Will progress really occur with this scheme or will this just be yet another white elephant?”
For further information about the sale, contact Stephan Miles-Brown of Knight Frank on: +44 (0) 20 7861 5403. Information can be viewed at: http://search.knightfrank.com/gb0412
For further information about SP Setia, go to: http://www.spsetia.com.my
For further information on Sime Darby, go to: http://www.simedarby.com