• Battersea Power Station opened its doors to the public on Friday 14^th October, alongside a new pedestrianised high street, Electric Boulevard, following a transformational eight-year restoration
• More than 250,000 people came to visit the London landmark for the first time ever and enjoy the ‘Festival of Power’, which continues on Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd October, with free family-friendly activities and performances
• New brands reported stellar opening weekends, significantly exceeding their sales targets, as the public embraced experiential-led retail and dining

19 October 2022

The opening of Battersea Power Station and Electric Boulevard. Credit: Charlie Round-Turner

Battersea Power Station welcomed over a quarter of a million visitors during its opening weekend between Friday 14^th - Sunday 16^th October, as huge crowds came to see inside the iconic landmark for the very first time and explore the neighbourhood’s new pedestrianised high street, Electric Boulevard.

Nearly forty years after the lights were switched off in one of London’s most defining landmarks and following an eight-year restoration project in which the building was transformed from a derelict shell to the shining centrepiece of a new town centre for London, visitors were able to enjoy the first of its unique shops, bars, restaurants and leisure venues.

British and international brands now open at Battersea Power Station include Adidas, Nike, Mulberry, Theory, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, Aesop, Space NK, Hugo Boss, Jo Malone London, Uniqlo and Mango to name a few.

A new neighbourhood bookstore, Battersea Bookshop, from specialist bookseller Stanfords, reported sales of 1,383 books during opening weekend and the Curated Makers pop-up, which hosts more than 40 local independent small businesses selling homeware, candles, clothing, artwork and more, experienced record-breaking sales on opening day.

Meanwhile, on Friday 14^th October, Genesis sold their first car and the Adidas ‘Empower Station’ pop up, which featured fitness classes and challenges hosted by Olympic and Paralympic athletes, instructors and industry experts, was fully booked across the weekend.

Eateries reported similarly high results, as visitors flocked to eat and drink in the unique surroundings of the Power Station. Inception Group, London’s most experiential hospitality company, opened its exciting new bar concept, Control Room B, and sold more than 7,000 cocktails between Friday and Sunday. Meanwhile, Paris Baguette served 1,221 pieces of cake, smoothies proved to be the top seller at Clean Kitchen, Where The Pancakes Are flipped more than 2,500 pancakes and Poke House served 3,500 poke bowls throughout the weekend. Further food and drinks brands are set to open soon, including a 24,000 sq. ft Arcade Food Hall from JKS Restaurants, which will open in 2023.

Battersea Power Station Turbine Hall A. Credit: John Sturrock

Electric Boulevard, a new high street to the south of the Power Station, also opened with ZARA and ZARA Home, seeing lots of shoppers heading down to its first Central London store south of the river. A new-concept M&S Food Hall will follow shortly along with the UK’s first art’otel, a 164 room hotel with Michelin starred chef, Henrique Sá Pessoa, opening his new rooftop bar and restaurant, JOIA, here.

Also opening in the next few weeks is Lift 109, a unique glass elevator experience inside the Power Station’s north west chimney, offering stunning panoramic views of London from a height of 109m. Tickets are due to go on sale shortly.

Visitors over the course of the opening weekend enjoyed the ‘Festival of Power’, a free fiveday festival celebrating the history and cultural contributions of Battersea Power Station. The event kicked off with an official countdown to the opening of the Grade II* listed Power Station, led by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, MP for Battersea, Marsha de Cordova and Battersea Power Station alumni, Rita Kelly, who worked at the Power Station in the 1950s.

Other highlights from the weekend included performances from the Battersea Power Station Community Choir, Arcadia’s Lords of Lightning and the Bright Sparks Trail – an interactive heritage trail app leading user to performances across the neighbourhood which nod to the history and cultural significance of the building. The Festival of Power continues on Saturday 22^nd – Sunday 23^rd October with performances on the Pavilion Stage in Power Station Park from 12pm – 8pm, and buskers performing from 10am – 6pm.

Control Room B at Battersea Power Station. Credit: John Sturrock

Simon Murphy, CEO of Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC), said:
“The public response to the opening of Battersea Power Station and our new pedestrianised high street, Electric Boulevard, has been truly amazing, and exceeded our expectations. Over 250,000 people from the local community, across London and from further afield, came to visit the newly restored Power Station at the very earliest opportunity, demonstrating the attachment people feel to this iconic landmark. On behalf of our shareholders, I would like to thank every single person who came down to visit, and we look forward to many more visitors over the coming months and years – this is just the beginning.”

Further quotes from retailers now open at Battersea Power Station can be found below.

The opening of Battersea Power Station and Electric Boulevard extends this already wellestablished neighbourhood, from the 20-plus shops, restaurants and bars that have been open in Circus West Village since 2017, and over 2,000 residents who live across Circus West Village, the Power Station, Gehry Partners’ Prospect Place and Foster + Partner’s Battersea Roof Gardens.

With the Northern Line extended to give this new riverside neighbourhood its very own Zone 1 London Underground station, Battersea Power Station is within 15 minutes of 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.

-END OF PRESS RELEASE-

Retailer quotes

Karl Wederell, General Manager at Aesop, Europe, said:
“Aesop was delighted with the opening weekend at Battersea Power Station and overwhelmed with the enthusiastic and positive response from customers to their newest UK store. We had one of the strongest UK store openings to date and feel enormously positive about the future of the location. Battersea Power Station has set a new benchmark for shopping centre destinations, and we are thrilled to be part of this new chapter for such an iconic landmark.”

Megan Jones, CEO and Founder of Curated Makers, said:
“The launch of Curated Makers at Battersea Power Station has blown us and our makers away! We’ve had record sales and glowing feedback, showing the desire for shoppers to buy unique, handmade items that are made locally to them, within such a unique shopping destination as this. Our makers are busy making more stock as we speak. We are so excited for the next few months ahead as we welcome even more visitors and offer them the perfect opportunity to shop small for their Christmas gifts too!”

Charlie Gilkes, Co-founder of Inception Group, said:
“It was incredible to see the size of the congregation assemble at the cathedral of power! We were overwhelmed by the number of people coming to see our bar in Control Room B and the atmosphere was completely electrifying.”

Arabella Turek, COO and Co-Founder of Petit Pli, said:
“After almost 40 years of silence, Battersea Power Station is roaring. As a digital first brand, Team Petit Pli were overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm of our local community to join us over the opening weekend! We were so pleased that shoppers were happy to see an independent, innovative brand open its doors inside the Power Station. Retail is definitely not dead! We’re thrilled Petit Pli has set up its flagship site in London’s newest arena for retail innovation and can’t wait for the journey ahead.”

Vivien Godfrey, Chairman and CEO of Stanfords, said:
“We couldn’t have wished for a better opening weekend. We were steadily busy throughout with Saturday being exceptionally busy. Feedback from our new customers was so positive. Many of whom said they were delighted to find our independent Battersea Bookshop among the brands in the Power Station. We welcomed a wide variety of people through our doors including lots of families who loved our designated children’s area, and architecture fanatics who came in to see the original exposed concrete but stayed to buy books.”

Craig Bolton, President of the Watches of Switzerland Group UK and Europe, said:
“Watches of Switzerland Group were very pleased and proud to open four new Showrooms at Battersea Power Station on 14th October. Trading in first three days was ahead of expectations.”

A spokesperson for Poke House Battersea Power Station, said:
“The energy inside the Power Station was so exciting. We managed to serve over three and a half thousand poke bowls to a wonderful mixture of customers spanning from residents to tourists. We look forward to welcoming more members of the public as the come to discover the phenomenal Power Station and its exceptional retail offering.”

Follow @BatterseaPwrStn to keep up to date with the latest news and events at Battersea Power Station and visit www.batterseapowerstation.co.uk to find out more.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Press Office, Battersea Power Station Development Company
T: +44 (0) 20 7062 1870
E: pressoffice@bpsdc.co.uk

About Battersea Power Station:

• Battersea Power Station is one of central London’s largest, most visionary and eagerly anticipated new riverside neighbourhoods. The £9bn regeneration project will see the creation of a vibrant, mixed-use destination offering a community of homes, shops, restaurants, offices, culture and leisure venues, as well as 19 acres of public space, all serviced by an extension to the London Underground Northern Line.
• The Battersea Power Station project covers 42 acres and includes 3.5m sq ft of mixed commercial space, together with 4,000 new homes.
• The successful regeneration of Battersea Power Station will create 20,000 new jobs, generate long term career opportunities for local residents and inject £20bn into the UK economy. A new NHS medical facility is also being built.
• Circus West Village, the first chapter of the regeneration of Battersea Power Station, is already a thriving riverside destination and home to over 1,800 people. Offering an eclectic mix of independent and design-led bars, restaurants, shops, fitness and wellbeing facilities, a cinema, a theatre and an ongoing events programme, this new neighbourhood welcomes over three million people on average per year.
• The Grade II* listed Power Station, the second phase of the development, will house over 100 shops, restaurants and cafes, an events venue, a unique chimney lift experience offering 360-degree panoramic views of London’s skyline, new office space and 254 new residential apartments. The building will open to the public from September 2022.
• With the recently opened Zone 1 Battersea Power Station Underground station on the Northern Line Extension, the development is only a 15 minute journey from the West End and the City. It also has its very own Uber Boat by Thames Clippers pier and is 15 minute journey from Embankment, 20 minutes from Blackfriars, 30 minutes from Putney and 40 minutes from Canary Wharf. Battersea Power Station is easily accessible by bus, bike, car and train too.
• The wider Battersea Power Station development is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors comprised of S P Setia (40%), Sime Darby Property (40%) and The Employees’ Provident Fund (20%), with the commercial assets within the Power Station building now being directly owned by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and EPF.

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