Apple moves UK HQ to Battersea power station boiler room in London

Apple is to move its UK headquarters to Battersea power station in a major boost for the £8bn regeneration of the Grade II-listed building – and a fillip for London following June’s Brexit vote.

The technology company has agreed to take 500,000 sq ft of office space across six floors in the power station’s central boiler house. It will move 1,400 Apple employees into the building in 2021 from its eight other London offices.

The power station, which was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, has been empty since 1983 when it stopped generating electricity and was decommissioned. Various attempts to redevelop it, including turning it into a theme park, have failed.

It was rescued in 2012 by a Malaysian consortium, which is pressing ahead with a 42-acre development of offices, shops, restaurants and luxury homes. As part of the project, the power station, which is the largest brick building in Europe, will be renovated and offices, apartments and an event space built inside.

Apple’s commitment is a major vote of confidence in the project and accounts for 40% of the office space in the power station. The sale of apartments at the site initially went well, but demand for upmarket homes in the area has cooled with a glut of development projects in the surrounding Nine Elms area.

The Apple deal is the largest office letting in the West End of London and the surrounding area for 20 years. Apple will keep its main European headquarters in Cork, where it employs 4,000 people, but the Battersea site will be one of its biggest offices outside the US.

The deal follows Google and Facebook signing up for similarly large developments in London. Google is building a campus in King’s Cross while Facebook will occupy offices off Oxford Street.

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said the deal is “another vote of confidence in the UK economy”. “Apple’s decision further strengthens London’s position as a global technology hub and demonstrates how the UK is at the forefront of the next steps in the tech revolution,” he said.

By the time Apple moves into Battersea power station in 2021, a new London Underground station is scheduled to be open at the site, which will connect it to the Northern line.

Apple said the deal would allow the company to have its UK team work from one location. It said in a statement: “We are looking forward to opening Apple’s new London campus at the Battersea power station in 2021.

“1400 Apple employees from existing offices around London will relocate to this magnificent new development at one of London’s best-known landmarks. It’s a great opportunity to have our entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history.”

Rob Tincknell, the chief executive of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: “We are delighted that Apple has chosen to make Battersea power station its home in 2021. It is testament to our fantastic building and the wider regeneration of the 42-acre site.

“It has always been our clear objective to create one of London’s most thriving new communities and this commitment from Apple will undoubtedly help us achieve our goal.”