Malaysia beats Chelsea bid

MALAYSIA'S SP Setia Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd's property arm won the right to redevelop the Battersea Power Station, beating a rival bid from Chelsea Football Club looking to move its stadium to the London landmark.

About 15 bidders including Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, submitted plans last month to buy the protected 15-hectare site on the south bank of the River Thames, the subject of repeated failed redevelopment attempts in the three decades since it shut.

The Malaysian companies have inked an exclusivity agreement with Alan Bloom and Alan Hudson of Ernst & Young LLP, the joint administrators and receivers of the property, to acquire the site for £400 million, SP Setia and Sime Darby said in a joint statement on Thursday.

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

The Malaysian companies said the redevelopment of the site will revivify south-west central London.

SP Setia and Sime Darby will build a new underground train station as part of the proposed extension of the northern line of the London network, according to the filing.

The crumbling riverside edifice Europe's largest brick structure and its quartet of art-deco white chimneys have been a recognisable silhouette on the London skyline for 80 years.

The site came on to the market after a £5.5 billion plan by Irish developer Treasury Holdings for homes, shops and offices collapsed in December.

Reuters