CAPITAL WATCH

Battersea

Power Station

is very well

placed to

weather

the storms.

Firstly, I trust

London will

continue to

be seen as one

of the world’s

safer havens

– that’s

more or less

regardless of

how things

play out over

the next few

years

— What has the reaction been

from Londoners to the restoration of

such an icon? All positive or did some

want to leave it be?

— Leaving the site untouched

would have been a tragedy: the

chimneys were crumbling and there

was a lot of other damage. Leaving

it be would have meant the Power

Station eventually falling down. But

with a project as big as this, and a

building as important as this, there

were always going to be some critics.

There were those who thought

that Battersea Power Station was

undevelopable and would never

happen; there were also those who

wanted the building demolished.

However, as we have now proved,

the restoration of this extraordinary

building is not only possible but will

be an amazing addition to London’s

cultural global offer.

The amount of consultation

we have run and participated in

throughout this project, and continue

to do so, means we’re genuinely able

to engage with stakeholders in a

meaningful way. I absolutely believe

we’re delivering things that the

local community needs and wants:

Battersea Power Station is already

becoming an exciting new town

centre for London and a great place

to live, work and play.

— What is the demographic of

the residential buyers?

— It’s a real mix. We’ve seen

young professionals, families, quite a

few entrepreneurs, some international

buyers. One phenomenon we’ve seen

is retirees looking to downsize: but

rather than moving out to the country,

they’re choosing somewhere where

there’s more going on. The strong

community we’re fostering is often

very attractive to these buyers. One

of our residents, a 65 year old lady,

told me she’d met more people in

four months here than in 10 years in

her previous home. This is ‘Lights

on London.’

— How are the first retailers

and restaurants such as Mother

and No. 29 trading?

— Initial trading has been very

positive indeed and the feedback

we have received has been good.

It’s early days yet but we’re very

pleased with the amount of footfall at

Circus West Village and the visibility

it’s gained as a new destination for

London; we have had nearly 400,000

visitors already since we opened

and that’s only the start. We expect

a big boost with the recent arrival

of the River Bus and new big-name

restaurants opening this winter.

Francesco Mazzei’s Fiume, is now

open, and Wright Brothers Battersea

is next to open its doors.

— Quite a few of the restaurants

(for example Pedler Cru) are one-offs

or small independents. Was this a

conscious choice?

— Yes, absolutely. We curated

the retail offerings at Circus West

Village very carefully, in going out of

our way to bring in restaurateurs that

would work together and enhance

the community. The whole idea is for

Circus West Village to be somewhere

unique and full of independently run

businesses, a London destination

different from others, and we like to

think we’re achieving that.

— Do you see the arrival of the US

embassy as a pull factor to this area

- does it suddenly make the whole

locality a bit more of a credible place?

— Yes, of course. There’s no

getting away from the fact that the

embassy of the most powerful nation

in the world is going to bring a lot

of people and raise the profile of

the area further, and there are other

embassies tipped to follow which

will give Nine Elms even stronger

credibility as an emerging diplomatic

quarter. Given how close it is to

Westminster that stands to reason.

As well as the US Embassy in some

ways we feel we’re also adding a bit

of a North American atmosphere

to the neighbourhood: Frank Gehry

is one of the most famous living

architects from across the Atlantic,

and the project is going to have his

only building in England, Prospect

Place. In addition, Apple will underpin

this even further.

— What do you think are the

biggest market challenges to BPS

in the next 5-10 years? Why do you

think BPS is particularly well placed

to meet them?

— There are the known factors

such as the 2014 change to Stamp

Duty, which has impacted the whole

industry. Nevertheless, despite the well-

publicised headwinds in the residential

property market; we have, so far,

withstood this downturn better than

others and continue to sell new homes.

Then there are what people call

the ‘known unknowns’. Brexit is

happening but we don’t know what

the result will be. That is the huge

benefit of a long-term, mixed-use

project like this. We have the ability

to ebb and flow with the market. For

example, if the residential market is

poor, we can build more offices and

vice versa.

I therefore believe Battersea Power

Station is very well placed to weather

the storms. Firstly, I trust London will

continue to be seen as one of the

world’s safer havens – that’s more or

less regardless of how things play out

over the next few years.

Secondly, Battersea Power Station

will remain a very strong proposition.

There is nowhere else that has the

same combination of location, density,

heritage, mix of uses, amenities

and infrastructure. And there aren’t

many schemes anywhere, let alone in

London, with the sort of solid backing

and knowhow that our Malaysian

shareholders bring to the project.

It won’t be easy or simple:

developments as large and complex

as this never are. But I have no doubt

that we will deliver the plan, and with

it an exciting new town centre

for London.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

IN CONVERSATION