Apple preparing itself in case new UK headquarters development is delayed
Apple announced in late 2016 that the company plans to open a new UK headquarters in London’s iconic Battersea Power Station along the River Thames, creating room for up-to 3,000 employees in 500,000 square feet worth of office space; now, The Times reports Apple is putting contingency plans in place in the event the development is delayed beyond the target completion date of December 2020.
According to the report, Apple is in “early stage talks” with property managers of its existing rented office spaces around London in case plans for its new headquarters are delayed. Apple has roughly 1,400 employees across eight different locations in the city, with its Battersea Power Station headquarters created to act as a central UK hub for Apple’s business operations.
Speaking to the media back in 2016, Apple said its main European offices will remain in Cork, Ireland, where Apple employs 4,000 people, reporting that the new London headquarters 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,” adding “our new London campus will be based in a magnificent new development at one of the city’s best-known landmarks.”
The chief executive of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, said “We’ll give them [Apple] that building at the end of 2020. That’s what everyone is very confident about at this stage . . . and then you’ll probably see Apple coming in some time after. Their fit-out is a big job.”
https://www.theapplepost.com/apple-opening-new-uk-headquarters-londons-battersea-power-station/
The £14 billion site is one of the biggest single office deals signed in London outside the City and Docklands area, in the past two decades, inevitably bringing new jobs to those across the UK.