Apple to move into Battersea power station in London

Apple will establish a new UK headquarters at Battersea power station, in a coup for the Malaysian company behind the huge building project by the river Thames.

The maker of the iPhone and iPad said on Wednesday that it would lease 500,000sq ft in the former coal-fired power station, which has stood empty for decades, despite repeated efforts to redevelop it, including a plan by Irish investors, Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett. The developers eventually lost control of the property to Nama and their company's bankers.

Apple will move 1,400 employees to its new site from eight offices around London in 2021, giving a boost to the area and to a city grappling with its future role following the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union.

Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said Apple's move was "a further sign that London is open to the biggest brands in the world and the leading city for trade and investment". Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said it showed that "companies are continuing to invest in Britain's future".

Apple’s European headquarters are in Ireland, but it is the latest global technology company to announce a new London building, following Facebook’s announcement late last year of a move to Fitzrovia and Google’s plans to build new offices at King’s Cross.

Malaysian consortium

A consortium of three Malaysian companies – Sime Darby, SP Setia and the state-run Employees’ Provident Fund – is redeveloping the power station and 42 acres around it to include offices, stores and thousands of homes. The area is due to be connected to the London Underground from 2020.

But the £8 billion (€9.3 billion) development and the broader regeneration area surrounding it have struggled with a downturn in the market for luxury apartments, which make up a large portion of the development plans.

Apple will take 40 per cent of the space in the grade II listed 1930s power station, which has been derelict for the past 30 years. Its offices will be in the former boiler house, spread across six floors.

The company said the move was a “great opportunity to have its entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history”.

Apple has sought out unusual and high-profile locations for its stores, such as New York’s Grand Central Terminal. It is also in the process of building a new headquarters in its home city of Cupertino, California.

– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016)