From the UK’s biggest power station to international cultural fame on Pink Floyd’s tenth album, to near-ruin, Battersea Power Station has claimed multiple identities over the years.
Now, the power station has entered its newest – and quite possibly cleanest – phase, as a multi-use residential, arts and office hub.
A £9bn project has transformed it from a disused, decommissioned site to a 42-acre estate with 2,000 homes and 60 companies in under a decade, and it has since become a destination in its own right.
At the centre of this transformation was the desire to create “a mini ecosystem”, says the head of asset management at Battersea Power Station, Sam Cotton.
“We’ve always looked to [old London villages] as a bit of inspiration,” he explains. “Our key objective is to really make Battersea a ‘must’ London day out”.
Last year, Battersea had 13 million people through its doors, up 15 per cent on 2023, and those visitor groups are “changing and growing all the time”, Cotton says.
Events include its annual lights festival, pop-ups exhibitions – like Disney’s Lion King – run clubs, late-night book events and art classes. The goal is to “touch all bases”, Cotton says. “[We want] to double the visitor numbers over the next few years.”
Much like Canary Wharf Group’s decision to pivot from a pure office-offering to a mixed-use office, retail and hospitality-based hub, the developers of Battersea Power Station noted the power of attracting a varied group of office workers, residents and tourists.
“The retailers and the brands that come here want to stay because there’s a strong and loyal resident base [who are] very regular and frequent… and people live here and want to live here and enjoy living here because of what happens on the ground floor,” Cotton says.
Firms, too, have been attracted by the “safe, quiet and pleasant environment”, and the range of retail and food vendors on offer, something employers increasingly value as they try to entice workers back to the office.
Battersea now boasts Apple on its top floor, plus Shark Ninja and IWG. Office space in the power station is 100 per cent let, while its newest offering, 50 Electric Boulevard, is already 50 per cent let.
‘The toughest project in the world’
At the centre of Battersea’s regeneration has been international investment, notably from a group of Malaysian shareholders, who acquired the site in 2012. The project would “not be where it is” without its investors, Cotton says.
Battersea, which contains two distinct parts – Battersea A and Battersea B – is protected under Grade II listed status. This means that any alterations require special permission from the local authority, and the building had to be preserved in its redevelopment.
In the almost four decades that both arms were decommissioned (A was put out of action first in 1975, and B in 1983) numerous proposals were floated and rejected.
These included a proposal from Alton Towers-owner John Broome to make a theme park, one by Chelsea FC for it to be turned into a football stadium, and another for it to be the home of entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.
The plan which eventually succeeded in 2012 was not without its share of problems: the gargantuan project faced plummeting profit margins as a result of a shaky prime property market and rising costs.
Then chief executive of Battersea Power Station Development, Rob Tincknell, called it the “toughest project in the world” in 2017 – but the project’s backers were committed to crossing the finish line.
“Our shareholders have put several billion pounds into restoring the power station, the redevelopment piece, contributions to the Northern line extension… [it’s] really significant investment,” Cotton says.
The extension of the Northern line alone, which was done in collaboration with Transport for London, took six years and cost upwards of £1.1bn.
But – as Canary Wharf Group would agree – it has been essential to Battersea’s success and “one of the most significant things we’ve done”, Cotton says.
“All of [the investment] collectively has really transformed this little quarter of London from what was a very inaccessible part of town to now a really thriving part of London that people live, work and enjoy,” he says.
International investment has been making headlines recently, as the Government tries to entice foreign investors to the country to fulfil its growth agenda.
For Cotton, it’s key that international investment “feels welcome” in London, but “ensuring that international investment works for the benefit of London is really crucial… Battersea has to deliver something for London, and mean something to Londoners.”
And for Battersea itself, this is only the start: “We’ve delivered half of the estate [and] we’ve got another half of the estate to go… We want to get it to the top of the rankings.”