Apple to be largest office tenant at Battersea Power Station

The Apple logo is seen on the outside of Bill Graham Civic Auditorium before the start of an event in San Francisco, California on September 7, 2016. Apple on Wednesday is expected to introduce a new iPhone and perhaps a second-generation smartwatch as it polishes its lineup of devices to shine during the year-end shopping season. The rumor mill has been grinding away with talk of iPhone 7 models that will boast faster chips, more sophisticated cameras, and improved software while doing away with jacks for plugging in wired headphones. / AFP PHOTO / Josh Edelson

KUALA LUMPUR: Apple Inc will become the largest office tenant at the Battersea Power Station, occupying about 500,000 sq ft of space across six floors of the central Boiler House inside the historic icon. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Battersea Holding Co Ltd said the technology giant was expected to move into the premises in 2021. 

“Battersea Power Station will be Apple’s new London campus and its office will account for circa 40% of the total office space in the whole development,” it said. 

The Battersea Power Station development site, which is owned by Malaysian shareholders Sime Darby (40%), SP Setia (40%) and the Employees Provident Fund (20%), extends to over 42 acres of prime riverside land.

A total of 1,400 Apple employees from existing offices around London will relocate to the new development, Battersea Holding Co Ltd said.

“It is understood that the transaction represents the largest office letting in London’s wider West End in the last 20 years,” it said. 

Battersea Holding Co Ltd chairman Datuk Johan Ariffin said: ““We are delighted to welcome Apple, the world’s most valuable brand, to Battersea Power Station, London’s most iconic development.

“This move by a brand of such calibre will serve to generate even more interest in Battersea with its vibrant mix of commercial, exciting retail and residential offerings in a cultural setting designed to drive innovation and enterprise. Apple can only strengthen this formula for success.”