May launch for Battersea Phase 2

By Sharen Kaur

PRIME PROPERTIES: BPHC confident 254 apartments worth £1.6b will be sold within a month

Battersea  Project Holding Co Ltd (BPHC) chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said Phase 2 of the Battersea project in London, comprising 254 apartments worth £1.6 billion (RM8.74 billion),
will be sold within a month of its launch on May 1.

The apartments range from studio units to five-bedroom penthouses.

Liew told Business Times that the apartments will be sold at £2,300 per  square foot (psf).

Last year, the company sold all 861 apartments in Phase 1, priced at an average of £1,100 psf, within three weeks.

BHPC is currently looking to sell five penthouses in Phase 1, each worth more than £15 million.

“We are in no hurry to sell as the Battersea project still has a long way to go.

We have a few buyers but we want to be careful as to whom we sell the units to,” he said.

The £8 billion Battersea project, which is owned by BPHC, is slated to complete in 2022.

BPHC is controlled by SP Setia Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd, with 40 per cent stake each, and the Employees Provident Fund, with a 20 per cent stake.

Liew is president and chief executive officer of SP Setia but he is leaving the company next month.

However, he is staying on as BPHC chairman until September next year to ensure continuity and maintain confidence.

According to him, the Phase 2 apartments are more appealing as they form part of the 17-storey power station.

The apartments are positioned within the facades of the western and eastern flanks of the power station and on top of the central boiler house.

“The development will include two levels for parking, three floors of luxury retail and six storeys of offices, as well as apartments.

We are selling all the apartments  and will lease the offices and retail mall to generate long-term income,” Liew added.

He declined to reveal the development cost for Phase 2.

It was reported that repairs of the power station building would cost about £700 million.