From Aishah Mohmad Afandi
LONDON, June 24 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Investors’ confidence in the Malaysian-led Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in the city is solid despite Brexit woes.
Battersea Power Station Development Company Ltd chief financial officer Benn Zemek said the uptake of residential units under phase one remained strong as it was now home to more than 1,000 residents.
The company has also leased over 95 per cent of the phase one commercial space with the upbeat retail performance.
“The local economy is supported by the strong long-term foundation that London has established since centuries ago, and what we can see is the demand for housing and commercial spaces is there, and we are here to cater to it,” he told a media briefing here today.
He said that even if the Brexit deal passed through, he believed the location of the project and its historical value would be the main attractions for investors to come in.
“Currently, we have a mixture of buyers and potential buyers from Southeast Asia and the Middle East, backed by strong local demand. For those who are willing to look past the macro economy, we can see that real estate prices outperform on this site,” he said.
The United Kingdom is expected to leave the European Union by Oct 31, 2019, an extension from the earlier deadline of March 29, 2019.
As for the phase two commercial assets, which were recently acquired by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), he said the office space would be housing Apple’s London headquarters with the handover targeted for early 2021.
“Coupled with the demand from future Apple employees, we believe that it would provide a synergy for both retail and residential in the future,” he said.
In the last 12 months, residential sales totalling £120 million have been generated, and the combined gross development value for all the eight phases stands at £9 billion.
The project’s owner, Battersea Project Holding Company Ltd, is owned jointly by Sime Darby Property Bhd (40 per cent), SP Setia Bhd (40 per cent) and EPF (20 per cent).
— NNN-BERNAMA