Battersea Power Station Celebrates Summer Of Success With 22 Million Visitors Since Opening
Major events, further store openings, new office leases and high residential sales saw Battersea Power Station enjoy its strongest summer yet
More than 22 million people have visited since the Power Station opened to the public in October 2022, and the riverside neighbourhood saw a 17% growth in footfall year-on-year from mid-July to the end of August 2024.
Large-scale events helped to draw record visitor numbers including The Battersea Games, which saw Battersea Power Station host an official Team GB Fanzone and ParalympicsGB Fanzone for Paris 2024.
In the first half of 2024, Battersea Power Station averaged a retail and leisure opening every month, with new brands including El Pastor and Two Drops by the Harts Group, Third Space, Santa Nata and LIPS Pharmacy and Healthcare Centre.
Brand openings still to come at the riverside neighbourhood include Marks & Spencer’s first standalone clothing store, Macaroni Penguin, % Arabica, Duck & Rice, Blank Street Coffee, Bizzy Me, Heartcore Pilates and R.W Wolf.
This summer 42,500 sq ft of office space was leased at 50 Electric Boulevard by SharkNinja and TEAM LEWIS, and £65m of new residential sales were agreed, as Battersea Power Station continues to flourish as a mixed-use destination.
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.
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 the destination 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.
Caption: Battersea Power Station was home to one of the Paris 2024 Official Team GB and ParalympicsGB fan zones this summer Credit: Charlie Round-Turner
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.
For those looking to unwind after a busy day at Battersea Power Station, ArcadeX, the ultimate riverside hotspot from Arcade, took over the historic Coaling Jetty with a mix of street food, refreshing drinks and live DJ performances, all with the iconic Power Station as a background.
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.
Caption: Battersea Power Station partnered with London design studio, POoR Collective, to bring a vibrant new public artwork titled, ‘Together We Rise’, to the historic Turbine Halls this summer Credit: Charlie Round-Turner
Topping off an exciting summer at Battersea Power Station, POoR Collective unveiled its ‘Together We Rise’ public artwork in the Turbine Halls, as part of the neighbourhood’s thriving arts and culture programme. The design studio will also unveil another installation titled ‘Together In Battersea’, during this year’s London Design Festival, inspired by the ideas and designs of local Wandsworth residents under the age of 18 who attended a series of workshops at the Power Station in August 2024.
In the first half of 2024, Battersea Power Station averaged a new brand opening every month, bringing the total number of shops, restaurants, bars and leisure venues to more than 150 across the neighbourhood, and more openings are already scheduled before the end of the year. Mexican restaurant, El Pastor, neighbourhood bar Two Drops 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 salon So.Shell increased the neighbourhood’s retail and leisure offering.
Caption: Battersea Power Station averaged a new brand opening every month in the first half of 2024, bringing the total number of shops, restaurants, bars and leisure venues to more than 150 across the neighbourhood. Credit: Charlie Round-Turner
Sam Cotton, Head of 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.”
Brand openings still to come inside the Grade II* listed Power Station include Marks & Spencer’s first ever standalone clothing store which will open in November 2024, soft play Macaroni Penguin, speciality coffee concept % Arabica, Chinese restaurant Duck & Rice, Blank Street Coffee and Bizzy Me children’s activity centre. 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.
Following the success of its pop-up at The Battersea Games last year, Rocket Padel will open central London’s first riverside indoor padel courts on 14th September 2024. The four indoor courts will be joined by an immersive exhibition space in spring 2025.
Battersea Power Station will also host a vibrant new festival for London, celebrASIA, from 13th – 15th September 2024, created in collaboration with the ten Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) London Committee to showcase the rich cultural heritage and offer visitors an authentic and immersive experience of the region, from street food to live performances, games, art masterclasses and markets.
Caption: 50 Electric Boulevard, Battersea Power Station’s new 200,00 sq ft sustainable office designed by Foster + Partners Credit: Taran Wilkhu
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.
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.
For more information, please visit www.batterseapowerstation.co.uk and follow @BatterseaPwrStn to keep up to date with the latest news and events.