Battersea is Now Ombak Kerugian!

 

Few annals in development keep on returning to haunt the living than the legacy and legend of the Battersea Power Station project. An iconic London landmark on the banks of the Thames which has sucked some of Malaysia’s premier funds and land companies.

 

The latest in that tragic tale is that the CEO of developer Battersea Power Station Development Company or BPSDC, who has been fired.  This was alleged that it was done because the company had effectively overstated the value of its assets by a “few hundred million pounds”.

It should be noted that in 2013 when the project was announced, it was supposed to have been finished by 2025. But it’s still alive and kicking. That should set sirens screaming louder than an official motorcade in Malaysia.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station

 

The entire development was worth RM53 billion over a decade ago and probably costs a lot more now. And it is owned by three icons from Malaysia, SP Setia and Sime Darby Property (SDP) with a 40 per cent stake each and Employees Provident Fund or EPF with the remaining 20 per cent. To top it up, major stakes in SP Setia and SDP are owned by national unit trust operator Permodalan Nasional Bhd or PNB, which owns some 49 per cent of SP Setia and some 45-47 per cent of SDP according to recent reports.

 

The Battersea project dates back to 2013 when it was launched with much fanfare in London, the opening graced by no less than British Prime Minister then, David Cameron, and London mayor and subsequently British prime minister Boris Johnson who were feted by Liew.

 

Essentially, EPF, SDP and SP Setia are likely to shoulder losses of some RM250 million a quarter or RM1 billion a year from a 5-year rental guarantee at Battersea. The guarantees, reportedly for a period of five years, were given by the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in London to buyers to encourage sales but the company was saddled with a huge payment for income not met by purchasers. It turns out the guarantee may have been given to a holding company owned 65 per cent by EPF and 35 per cent by PNB which bought the commercial development of Battersea for 1.58-billion-pound sterling. The rest, mainly residential, remained with the development company.

 

The Financial Times reported in March 2026 the CEO was dismissed because he flagged that properties owned by the Battersea development company were overvalued by a few hundred million pounds. The case is now before a London tribunal for wrongful dismissal.  The development company denied the allegations.

 

Quality of assets is a rather subjective matter and different people have different things to say about it. But one may ask why a career professional who has a long and distinguished career in other places will make such serious allegations against Battersea if it is not warranted.

 

Why not do a forensic audit for public consumption? After all, the key investors are pension/investment funds? Otherwise, we have more speculation and less light!

 

Reference:

The ghost of Battersea revisits, P. Gunasegaram, Kinibiz Online, 31 March 2026