Irish firm buys London power-station building

An Irish company has purchased London’s Battersea Power Station and surrounding lands for €595m, it was confirmed today.

Real Estate Opportunities bought the site covering 38 acres, including 380 metres of riverside frontage, from Oriental Property, a company owned by the Hwang family.

Battersea Power Station, which was built to generate coal-fired electricity in 1939, is one of the largest brick buildings in the world. The site, including the surrounding land, represents one of the biggest urban regeneration projects in central London.

Ray Horney, chairman of Real Estate Opportunities, said: “We are delighted to become involved in a project that presents both a magnificent property-development opportunity and challenge.

"The power station itself is a building that is an iconic part of central London’s heritage and is set on a site which, by virtue of its size and location, offers an extraordinary development opportunity. No comparable site exists in London.”

The masterplan for the regeneration of the urban site envisages a mixture of housing, hotels, retail, conference and exhibition space.

REO said it has employed a number of technical and planning advisers for the site. Property development company Treasury Holdings, which operates a property portfolio of more than €2.1bn, is the major stakeholder in REO.

Mr Horney said: “Those who know the work of Treasury Holdings at Spencer Dock in Dublin should have great confidence that the site is in good hands.

"Spencer Dock, which is Dublin’s largest urban-regeneration project and comprises 52 acres, has proved both commercially successful and a magnificent addition to Dublin’s building stock.”

REO has agreed to pay Oriental Property Limited €595m, of which €370m is payable in cash.

The transaction is conditional on the approval of REO’s shareholders and Treasury Holdings, which controls 58.5% of the ordinary shares.

Victor Hwang, director of Oriental, which also controls 100% of Parkview International London, said the company had been working to ensure the regeneration of the site would be completed.

“We have given a great deal of effort to create a world-class project in one of the world’s greatest cities,” Mr Hwang said.

“It is right that the next phase and future of Battersea Power Station should now be transferred into a publicly-listed company. This will assure that there is transparency and clear reporting requirements to the public, whose affection for this iconic building never wavered.”