TWO OF the creditors that are seeking to have Irish-owned Battersea Power Station placed in administration indicated yesterday that they believe this represents their best chance of selling.

Nama and Lloyds Bank are due to ask a British court to appoint administrators to the power station, which is owned by Treasury Holdings-backed Real Estate Opportunities (REO) and a group of its bond holders.

Lloyds was reported as saying yesterday that all the lenders to the property are determined to sell it for the best price possible and believe the appointment of administrators would put the sale process back on track.

The property’s owner, Battersea Power Station Shareholder Vehicle Ltd, in which REO has a 54 per cent stake, owes Lloyds and Nama €380 million. They and another lender, Victor Hwang-controlled Oriental Property, are due to ask a London court on December 12th to appoint accountants Ernst Young as administrators.

A spokesman for Nama said yesterday that the agency was very positive about the prospects of finding a buyer for the London landmark and surrounding site, and added that the appointment of an administrator would increase the chances of this happening.

REO has won planning approval for a £5 billion (€5.8 million) redevelopment of the site, and is still working on attracting an investor to the project.

Any progress on finding an investor for Battersea and developing the site would aid Nama. The agency is supporting other Irish developers, such as Ballymore Properties, with projects in the same area as the power plant site.