Of the 1,500 flats that have been sold at Battersea Power Station, SW8, 123 have been flipped, with an average uplift of around 30%.
Rob Tincknell, chief executive of Battersea Power Station Development Company, addressed speculation about the number of residential units being sold at the scheme at an Estates Gazette/Profile Face to Face event at Atlantic House, EC1, today.
He said that despite rumours that the majority of buyers at the iconic development were overseas investors looking for buy-to-let investments, at least half of them were British.
“And about half those buyers have ticked the owner-occupier box,” he said.
Tincknell added: “The rest are from all over the world. Yes, there were a lot of Malaysian buyers. You need pre-sales to make real estate projects work, that’s what the banks require.
“If they can then flip their apartments, then it’s great, good luck and thanks for making our project work.
“While things have changed very recently with Brexit and stamp duty, it has been three to four years since the scheme has come in, and that is the average.”
Work began on the power station in 2013, after it was bought by a consortium of Malaysian investors comprising SP Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees’ Provident Fund. BPSDC is managing the development, which will include flats, offices, retail and leisure space.
Apple has just been confirmed as the anchor tenant on the scheme, taking 500,000 sq ft for a new London campus.
Tincknell confirmed that the offices at the power station had been generating interest mainly from the “jeans and jumper parade” – creative and tech occupiers.
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