At the time of his first visit to England since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that its highly anticipated London campus in the restored space of Battersea Power Station will open in early 2023.
The new office space was announced in 2016 with a 2021 deadline to move in 1,400 Apple employees from eight locations around London. However, the project was delayed presumably because COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 which heavily impacted all industries for almost two years.
Employees from 8 locations will move to Apple’s new London office next year
After being abandoned for 33 years, Battersea Power Station has been under a restoration process since 2016. Apple has leased 500,000 sq. feet at the site to accommodate its “central function” staff including finance and human resources from 8 London locations.
We can’t wait to open our new offices in the iconic Battersea Power Station for so many of our team members in London early next year. It's a tribute to this incredible city and a reflection of our commitment to Apple's future in the UK. pic.twitter.com/67M3qpaSTB
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 26, 2022
At the time of the announcement, Evening Standard reported:
Apple said it was looking forward to the 2021 opening of “our new London campus” as staff relocate to “this magnificent new development at one of the city’s best-known landmarks”. It added: “This is a great opportunity to have our entire team working and collaborating in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history.”
Battersea Power Station will also be home to other offices, retail shops, restaurants, and residential areas. And the tech giant will occupy 40% of the building.
Apple will occupy the top six floors inside the former boiler house around a huge central atrium. There will also be three floors of shops, 253 apartments around a “garden square in the sky”, a 2,000-seater auditorium and cinemas in a scheme designed by London architects Wilkinson Eyre.
It will be the tech giant’s largest office outside the United States, however, its European headquarter is going to remain in Cork, Ireland.
During his visit, Cook also oversaw the launch of the founders’ development program for female founders and app creators in the UK and gave an interview to the BBC in which he emphasized the need for a diverse workforce with more women in the tech industry.
