SP Setia, Sime preferred bidders for Battersea

SP SETIA Bhd and Sime Darby Property Bhd have emerged as the preferred bidders to buy London's Battersea Power Station, beating a rival bid from Chelsea Football Club, which was looking to move its stadium to the London landmark.

In a statement, the property developers said that they have been identified as the preferred bidders to buy the property for about RM2 billion by the joint administrators and receivers, Alan Bloom and Alan Hudson of Ernst & Young.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's Chelsea were among the 15 bidders which submitted plans last month to buy the protected 15ha site on the south bank of the River Thames.

The Battersea Power Station has been the subject of repeated failed redevelopment plans in the three decades since its shutdown.

The iconic 930s power station, Europe's largest brick building which was also featured on the cover of the 1977 British rock group Pink Floyd album "Animals", has been vacant for almost 30 years.

The derelict site was put on sale in February this year after its owners failed to pay lenders a sum owed of more than RM2.47 billion.

Creditors led by Lloyds banking Group plc and Ireland's National Asset Management Agency put the REO units that owned the site into administration, a UK type of bankruptcy reorganisation, in December last year after they failed to pay lenders.

The deal marks SP Setia's first foray into Europe and adds to its residential projects in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

In a joint statement, SP Setia and Sime Darby said under the agreement, which the companies signed with the administrators and receivers, they have up to 28 days to conduct further due diligence and investigations, and to negotiate the contract for the acquisition of the property on terms and conditions acceptable to the parties.

According to the statement, SP Setia and Sime Darby were advised by RREEF, Deutsche Bank's real estate arm.

SP Setia and Sime Darby's plan involve the development of a sustainable multi-use real estate regeneration project that will provide economic impetus for the creation of new vibrant centre for south-west central London.

"The plans will preserve the facade of the historical power plant with its iconic chimney stacks," according to the statement.

In addition, SP Setia and Sime Darby have committed to the construction of a new underground station as part of the proposed extension of the Northern Line (part of the London Underground's Tube network), which should pass by the site.

"This is viewed as fundamental to the success of this regeneration projects," the property developers said.

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