Apple’s plans for new Battersea Power Station HQ sound pretty dramatic
Apple’s plans for new Battersea Power Station HQ sound pretty dramatic
The tech giant will house its London campus in the legendary Art Deco landmark by 2021
Battersea Power Station, the iconic coal power plant by the Thames River in London being redeveloped by a Malaysian consortium, has scored its biggest tenant yet.
For its London campus, Apple is taking over office space that stretches out 500,000 square feet across six floors of the plant’s central Boiler House.
“This is a great opportunity to have our entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history,” the company said in a statement.
Apple hopes to move 1,400 employees to its Battersea headquarters by 2021.
A consortium between the Malaysian government’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Malaysian companies Sime Darby and SP Setia acquired the power plant in 2012 with plans of turning the sleepy Nine Elms area into a thriving mixed-use community. Apple and other commercial tenants will share the site with around 4,000 homes, which are ready for occupancy in the next few months.
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The Battersea station is renowned for its four imposing chimneys in 1930s Art Deco style. The plant graced the cover of the Pink Floyd album “Animals.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called the deal a “sign that London is open to the biggest brands in the world and the leading city for trade and investment.”
Across the pond, Apple is engrossed with its more futuristic Silicon Valley headquarters, on track for completion by the end of the year. Called by turns “spaceship” and “mothership,” Apple’s California campus is over one mile in circumference and will house 13,000 employees.
Apple’s main European headquarters will remain in Ireland, which holds 4,000 employees.
Read next: What happens now to Malaysian property investments in London after Brexit?
Source: Property Report