Battersea Power Station is celebrating its strongest summer to date with a 17% growth in footfall year-on-year from mid-July to the end of August 2024 and total visitor numbers exceeding 22 million since the iconic landmark opened to the public for the first time in history in October 2022.
The iconic landmark’s appeal extends beyond London, attracting international attention, particularly from GCC investors and tourists. The riverside neighbourhood has become a prime destination for visitors and investors from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan, thanks to its diverse and high-quality offering, which includes more than 150 shops, bars, restaurants and leisure venues.
Fashion brands open inside the Grade II* listed Power Station and on Electric Boulevard, the riverside neighbourhood’s pedestrianised high street, performed particularly well over the summer months with sales up by 21% between mid-July to the end of August 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Between June and August, visitors flocked to Battersea Power Station to enjoy a number of events, installations and pop-ups. Kicking off the summer of sport, The Battersea Games returned for a second year, offering visitors the chance to spectate or participate in an exciting array of sports and games across the riverside neighbourhood, from a 100m running track to badminton, exercise classes, padel at the Rocket Padel x Blank Street coffee pop-up court and a big screen showing summer sports fixtures and films during the evenings.
Delivered in partnership with Team GB and Ocean Outdoor, the Official Team GB Battersea Power Station Fanzone and Official ParalympicsGB Fanzone showcased all the action from Paris 2024, along with a range of interactive activities for visitors to enjoy. The Wimbledon Experience also returned, live streaming the matches straight from Centre Court to the six-acre Power Station Park.
Following the success of its pop-up at The Battersea Games, Rocket Padel opened its first flagship indoor padel courts next to the Power Station on 14th September 2024, providing an unparalleled experience for padel enthusiasts. The four indoor courts will be joined by an immersive exhibition space in spring 2025.
One of 70 pop-up brand activations hosted so far this year at Battersea Power Station, Aperol’s disco-themed activation, Aperidisco, returned to the neighbourhood for a second year in a row, serving up the perfect mix of good tunes and summer vibes with DJ takeovers, music sessions, beauty treatments, disco yoga, brunch and karaoke. IWC Schaffhausen created an immersive space in Malaysia Square to celebrate its 10-year partnership with Lewis Hamilton, while INEOS GRENADIER invited visitors to step foot inside their newest 4x4s in Turbine Hall B inside the Power Station.
In the first half of 2024, Battersea Power Station averaged a new brand opening every month. Mexican restaurant, El Pastor and pastel de nata café, Santa Nata, brought new cuisines to Battersea Power Station, while Third Space, Holland & Barrett, LIPS Pharmacy & Healthcare Centre, Reformcore pilates, Swarovski, and nail and brow salon So.Shell increased the neighbourhood’s retail and leisure offering.
Brand openings still to come inside the Grade II* listed Power Station include speciality coffee concept % Arabica, Marks & Spencer’s first ever standalone clothing store which will open in November 2024, soft play Macaroni Penguin, Chinese restaurant Duck & Rice, Blank Street Coffee and Bizzy Me children’s experience. Heartcore pilates and R.W Wolf barber will open on Electric Boulevard and BioWell Health will open in Circus West Village. Further brands are expected to be announced shortly.
Sam Cotton, Head of Leasing and Asset Management at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) said:
“Battersea Power Station has gone from strength-to-strength since its opening in 2022. We’re consistently growing our footfall and continuing to attract world-class brands to our ever-expanding offering, which draws thousands of people of all ages every day to shop, eat, live, work and play.
“This summer has really demonstrated the strength of having such a diverse mixed-use offering. Every aspect of the development has seen brilliant growth over the past few months, from office leasing at 50 Electric Boulevard, through to residential and retail sales. Each component supports and sustains the others, building on each area’s success to make Battersea Power Station one of London’s buzziest neighbourhoods.”
Expanding Battersea Power Station’s office community of more than 60 businesses and 3,500 workers, the developer completed 50 Electric Boulevard in February 2024, a new 200,000 sq ft sustainable workspace designed by Foster + Partners. In June, SharkNinja was announced as the first tenant to lease space inside the state-of-the-art building, with the leading home technology choosing to open its new 32,000 sq ft EMEA headquarters, which expands on its existing offices inside the Power Station and on Arches Lane. Global marketing group TEAM LEWIS has also leased the entire top floor of the building and employees will move into the 10,500 sq ft office this autumn.
New residential sales totaling £65 million were agreed in July and August, as purchasers took the opportunity to buy one of the last remaining apartments in a live phase at Battersea Power Station. Only a handful of apartments now remain inside the Power Station itself, and a limited number of sleek studio, one and two-bedroom apartments in the Foster + Partners’ designed Koa at Electric Boulevard.
Purchasers from the GCC continue to show strong interest in residential opportunities at Battersea Power Station, with the developer reporting an approximate 5% increase in demand from the region in 2024. The neighbourhood’s rich mixed-use offering led by retail, hospitality, and leisure amenities continues to differentiate Battersea Power Station against other London neighbourhoods, whilst the UK capital retains its standing as a safe haven for investment.
There were more than two million entries or exits to the Zone 1 Battersea Power Station Underground station between the beginning of June and the end of August, with many visitors choosing to travel via tube to the riverside destination, which is a short 15 minute ride from the West End and the City. Battersea Power Station is also easily accessible via the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers river bus service, bike, train and on foot.