Battersea project off toa powerful start

IT'S a freezing Thursday morning at the Battersea Power Station in London. A couple of hundred yards away at its show gallery, potential buyers are lining up in droves to lock in purchases of the first phase of apartments being launched that day.

By noon, over 60 units had already been booked. Prices start from £338,000 (RM1.014mil) for a studio, from £423,000 (RM1.269mil) for a one-bedroom, from £613,000 (RM1.839mil) for a two-bedroom and £894,000 for a three-bedroom apartment as well as from £6mil for the penthouse units.

“I think our buyers are smart and appreciate the project's unique strengths. Its proximity to Chelsea, Battersea Park, our new tube station and, of course, the carefully blended mix of uses we have,” saysBattersea Power Station Development Co Ltd (BPSDC) chief executive officer Robert Tincknell, adding that there was a lot of pent-up demand for these apartments, especially from Londoners.

BPSDC is the company that is managing the Battersea Power Station project. S P Setia, Sime Darby and the EPF purchased the 39.5-acre Battersea Power Station site for RM1.99bil in September last year.

Both S P Setia and Sime Darby have an equal stake of 40% each in the project, with the EPF holding the remaining 20%.

Attempts to revive the Battersea Power Station in the past unfortunately faced several problems. Tincknell is ecstatic that the Malaysian consortium has not only taken over the development but has already kick-started the project.

“I think it's fantastic. The consortium members not only have the financial strength to take on Battersea Power Station but also have the experience of working on large, multi-use projects such as this,” he says.

The first phase, which is named Circus West at Battersea Power Station, has a gross development value (GDV) of £900mil (RM4.5bil). A total of 800 units are up for sale, with 200 units being allocated to London purchasers. Being a Malaysian project, half (400 units) are allocated exclusively for Malaysian buyers.

The remaining 200 units are equally split between the Singapore and Hong Kong market. Buyers pay 20% and the remaining 80% on completion. S P Setia president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin says he expects all units to be snapped up before the middle of the year.

“The strategy of Battersea is simple. We want to make it into an international centre for community and that's why we're selling it in London first, then Malaysia, Singapore then Hong Kong.

“We're the first property company to launch in London first. No other projects do this. They launch in Asia first but we were very confident that we could sell to the locals (Londoners first). As you can see, (with the good take-up) our faith and confidence is well paid off.”

According to the project's fact sheet, preparatory work on the first phase, located to the west of the power station, has already begun with work commencing in the second half of 2013. The first residents are expected to move in by 2016. Properties are to be sold on a 999-year lease.

Located on London's famous cultural South Bank, Battersea Power Station is just over a mile and a half from the Houses of Parliament. It sits south of the River Thames, across from Chelsea and forms the cornerstone of central London's last significant regeneration area, Nine Elms.

The British government-backed guarantee to extend the Northern Line underground through Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station is expected to boost accessibility.

“The biggest challenges are already dealt with the new tube station and planning permission. Now, our shareholders have the financial firepower to deliver,” says Tincknell.

He adds that Central London continues to go from strength to strength, fuelled by ever-increasing local and international demand.

“I can't see that changing any time soon. It's such a great city with the right blend of business, culture, heritage and entertainment. Nine Elms has been London's best kept secret. Its only one mile from Westminster and the mayor has produced a clear development framework for the entire area, which promotes socially and environmentally sustainable development.”

The Battersea Power Station development will create 16.8 acres of public open space with over 400m of river frontage, of which nearly six acres will be a new riverside park alongside a proposed river-bus facility.

The project will include 550,000 sq ft of retail facilities in both the Power Station and the High Street, which in turn will link to the new Battersea Power Station tube station resulting from the Northern Line extension.

With the development fully and financially supporting the proposed Northern Line extension, this transport upgrade obtained the backing from the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Autumn Statements of November 2011 and December 2012, the latter of which confirmed a £1bil loan and a guarantee to extend the Northern Line to Nine Elms and the Battersea Power Station.

It is expected that upon completion, in excess of 15,000 people will work at Battersea Power Station across retail, hospitality, commercial, service community and creative sectors.

Separately, Tincknell says construction of the second phase will start soon.

“We're going to a new architectural team. Those appointments will be made in the next couple of months. Hopefully before Christmas, we'll be able to launch. Those units will be very much different (from the first phase). They will be much larger, with gardens on the roof.

“We're also bringing on very quickly the third phase, which is the building behind the power station. It's a new building similar to the first phase, so that will also launch pretty much the same time (by year-end).”

Tincknell says the entire Battersea Power Station project is expected to be developed over eight phases and should be completed within the next 14 to 15 years. - The Star