By ZARINA ZAKARIAH
KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will jointly buy the Battersea Power Station building in London for 1.6 billion pounds (RM8.8 billion).
The building is reportedly where Apple Inc planned to occupy its new UK headquarters.
Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) confirmed that Battersea Project Holding Company Ltd (BPHC) had approved the exclusive transaction aimed at reorganising ownership of the building to create a long-term asset management and ownership structure.
The deal will not affect the shareholdings of Sime Darby Property Bhd, SP Setia Bhd and Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia (EPF) in BPHC, which is the holding company of the Battersea project.
“The shareholders in the proposed new structure will be Malaysian investors PNB, one of the largest asset management companies in Malaysia and EPF who, through their holdings in the current developers and directly, already own 70 per cent of the entire project,” BPSDC said in a statement yesterday.
PNB and EPF are long term investors with existing real estate exposures in the UK market.
The £1.6 billion will be paid in stages through the rest of the construction phase of The Power Station building.
A BPSDC spokesperson said the building would provide both investors with a unique investment opportunity to own an iconic development in the heart of London.
“With the conclusion of the transaction, BPSDC will remain the active manager of the development. This creates a solid platform that will ensure the protection, active management and control of the historically important building are maintained.”
The Battersea Power Station Grade II listed building is about halfway through a comprehensive refurbishment or reconstruction that will complete in late 2020.
The five-year project is the largest historic building project ever undertaken in the UK and when finished, will become the heart of the wider 42-acre mixed use scheme.
On completion, the building will be 25 per cent residential use including over 250 apartments, the majority of which have already been pre-sold.
A further 25 per cent is new office space which has already been pre-let to Apple in one of London’s largest ever office pre-lets.
The remaining balance of the building will be retail and leisure accessed from the two historic turbine halls, the leasing programme of which will commence this year.
Battersea Power Station was first opened in 1933. However, due to the break out of World War II, the building did not complete until 1953.
During operation, it supplied one fifth of London’s electrical power including serving the war rooms and Buckingham Palace.
The building finally stopped producing power in 1983 and has ever since undergone a number of failed schemes to preserve the much-loved structure.
“The Malaysian shareholders purchased the site in September 2012 and have since made significant progress including the successful completion of the first phase of the development which is now home to over 1,000 residents and a collection of independent retailers and restaurateurs.
“The proposed transaction reflects the shareholders’ long-term commitment to Battersea and London,” the spokesperson further added.
Discussions are currently at a preliminary stage and a further announcement will be made in regards to the deal moving forward, BPSDC said.