Battersea Power Station: the Drapers verdict on London’s newest shopping centre

In 2012 plans for long-derelict former Battersea Power Station were revealed, beginning the creation of a community of homes, shops, offices, a hotel and restaurants in south London would by a group of Malaysian investors comprising PNB, Sime Darby Property, SP Setia and the the country's Employees’ Provident Fund. The original 2020 launch date was postponed during the pandemic until October 2022 when it became London's first new shopping centre in nearly a decade since Wembley's London Designer Outlet opened in October 2013.

There has been much fanfare about the transformation of the historic site with the 289,283 sq ft of retail space in its famous turbine halls, housing fashion and footwear retailers, jewellers, restaurants, cafes and leisure facilities, including a cinema. Drapers visited Monday 6 March to see whether it lives up to the hype, ranking the shopping centre on: navigation and amenities; design and architecture; entertainment and leisure; store mix; and food and beverage facilities.

Navigation and amenities: 4.5/5

It is calm and quiet at Battersea Power Station on a Monday morning, making getting around the vast space easy. The journey to the location is simple, too: – just 25 minutes away from central Kings' Cross St Pancras station. In September 2021 two new Tube stations – Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station – opened to the public, improving connectivity to the location. Upon entering the shopping centre from the entrance closest to Battersea Power Station Tube station, two sets of escalators and staircases take shoppers up and down to the upper-ground floor, while a lift located by the entrance can also transport shoppers to each of the four levels. An underground car park with around 300 spaces is on the lower-ground floor, and the cinema is on level one.

The centre is made up of its famous Turbine Halls A and B. At the entrance visitors have the choice of going left into Hall A or right into Hall B. Each has one set of escalators on each floor, while clear signs indicate where amenities such as the toilets, the lifts, cinema and viewing point, Lift 109, can be found.

There are interactive screens on each floor that visitors can use to search for and locate stores. They show the user's location on a map and give them the option to see instructions on how to find the store they are looking for. I search for Japanese retailer Uniqlo, and it outlines a black line from my position to the store: clear and direct guidance is achieved. An option to show accessible routes is inclusive. These screens are dotted along each floor, so visitors can find their destination at almost any point in the shopping centre.

Bridges on the two upper ground floors within Hall A and B provide a means of travel to the opposite side of the hall that visitors are in, allowing them to cut across rather than walk around the entire edge of the space. Families with prams can move around with ease, using either the escalators or lifts to move from level to level.

Bathroom facilities and an accessible toilet are stationed on each floor in each of the halls. There are several benches, while some areas include sofas for a more comfortable pit stop while shopping. However, I am surprised that there were no water fountains available to fill up my water bottle, or visible charging points to get some much-needed juice for my phone.

Design and architecture: 4/5

The impressive grade II*-listed building is a majestic sight in the dreary wet weather when Drapers visits. Its rust brown brickwork, shiny glass windows and soaring towers make it stand out alongside the River Thames.

Inside is just as dramatic: Turbine Hall A reflects the art deco glamour of the 1930s when the power station was built, whereas Turbine Hall B, which was completed in the 1950s, has a more brutalist, industrial look and feel.

Hall A features a huge glass ceiling through which natural light streams in. The interior comprises faded grey stone walls, glass bay windows with pale grey frames and exposed metalwork. Glass sides expose the inner mechanisms of the escalators and glass elevators afford panoramic internal views of the former power station. At the end of Hall A, a full-length glass window forms a backdrop to a giant, spiral light structure, illuminating the space even more. A screen promotes the Lift 109 attraction, which takes visitors up the north-west chimney to a 109 metre-high viewing platform that offers 360º views over London (read more on Lift 109 below).

Hall B has overhead spotlight-style lighting instead of a glass ceiling, and feels darker. Smaller windows with black frames fill the walls, further contributing to the sombre atmosphere. Once again there is plenty of exposed metal on the ceiling giving an industrial feel, and the grey stone walls can be seen throughout. Hanging high from the metal structure on the ceiling is a large rotating box bearing the Battersea Power Station logo.

Every shop – which includes brands such as Calvin Klein, Nike, Pinko and Me + Em – has an illuminated rectangular sign outside displaying the retailer's logo in black, so that visitors can easily identify which store is which. This is uniform across the entire shopping centre, and creates a feeling of continuity and sleekness.

As a listed building, I expect nothing less from the power station’s architecture and design, and it did not disappoint. However, the darkness in Hall B made it feel a bit claustrophobic compared with the bountiful natural light in Hall A.

Entertainment and leisure: 4/5

Throughout the shopping centre billboards say visitors can “shop”, “eat”, “work” and “play” – and play is certainly on offer. The two-screen Cinema in the Power Station in Turbine Hall B, provides reclining seats, and offers food and drinks, including champagne, craft beers and cocktails. There are also private boxes with mini-bars in each screen. It will also soon house a members’ club due to open in the first half of this year.

Just a few minutes’ walk away is The Cinema in the Arches, located at Circus West at 22 Arches Lane, which is bigger and has three screens. Two cinemas may seem a little excessive in the same location, but the additional screens at The Arches mean more films can be shown throughout the day to more customers.

Under the railway arches at 6 Arches Lane, less than a minute’s walk from the shopping centre and The Cinema in the Arches, is Birdies, a nine-hole crazy golf course.

Another attraction is Lift 109 in Turbine Hall A. As part of the redevelopment, one of the chimneys was converted and with a glass elevator. For £15.90 for adults and £11.50 for children, visitors can see 360° views at the 109 metre summit of the chimney. A family ticket (for two adults and two children or one adult and three children) at £50.40 seems pricey for a sightseeing platform.

All in all, there is a great deal of entertainment choice on offer at Battersea. While Lift 109 might be considered costly to get a glimpse of the capital from a high viewing point, both the cinema and Birdies offer good value for money for families, including cheaper tickets at off-peak times and during school holidays.

Store mix: 3/5

Walking into Battersea, the first stores I see are luxury jewellery and watch retailers such as Cartier, Rolex and Tag Heuer. Instantly I feel the stores here are more high end than the usual mix of high street retailers that can normally be found in shopping centres.

This continues into the fashion retailers on offer – premium fashion brands including Ralph Lauren, Mulberry, Lacoste, Reiss and Gant all have stores here. There are some high street retailers including Uniqlo, Superdry, Jigsaw, Nike and Zara, but value high street players such as New Look, H&M and Primark are nowhere to be found, which suggests this shopping centre is targeting a more affluent customer and may not be for everyone. Chanel, Kurt Geiger, Office, Nobull and Arc'teryx are among those due to launch, but no opening dates were visible on the hoardings outside these units.

Nevertheless, during the day the space became busier with visitors bearing shopping bags after a successful visit.

Each store appears spacious and light. Retailers such as Reiss and Mango sport fresh, light colour schemes. Others such as Nike and Reformation have upped their tech ante with large screens displaying marketing campaigns in their windows and inside stores.

Many of the stores offer customer experiences: Uniqlo has its Studio service available in store, where customers can repair and customise their Uniqlo items, while Zara, which is located outside, opposite Battersea Power Station’s entrance by the Tube, has a self-check-out area for customers.

The simple look of store fronts combined with by Battersea's industrial aesthetic gives them a modern appearance, as each store is defined by strong, black metalwork. Coupled with the uniform signs outside each store, it is easy for consumers to find the retailer they are looking for. However, the mix of retailers on display are at the premium end of the spectrum, which could restrict Battersea from reaching a larger population of shoppers.

Food and beverage: 3/5

A range of budgets can be catered for at Battersea Power Station. At the front entrance on the upper-ground level are Starbucks and Pret A Manger, while just below is Joe & the Juice, providing cheaper, quick, lighter bites and coffee. Further inside are other well-known chains such as Grind and Itsu, as well as Clean Kitchen offering a vegan option for visitors.

On the upper ground level in Turbine Hall B is the Control Room B mazzanine. Described as a “unique all-day cocktail bar experience”, visitors can peruse the former control room’s original dials, control desks and other equipment controlling the power station that once supplied one-fifth of London's electricity. A centrepiece bar, that has been inspired by a turbine and emulates a radial sculpture, can be seen clearly when walking past this bar from the upper levels. Cocktail prices start at £9.50.

While there are a few restaurants dotted about in the power station, including the pricier Gordon Ramsay Bread Street Kitchen & Bar and Le Bab, I was disappointed to see that the 24,000 sq ft Arcade Food Hall, which is located on level 1 and can be accessed via Hall A and B and will house Taiwanese restaurant Bao, among others, has not yet opened. Signage indicates it will be opening in 2023 but no date is provided.

Drapers’ verdict: 18.5/25 stars   

Overall, Battersea Power Station was a pleasing experience for a day out shopping. It houses most of the amenities a consumer expects, and the building is impressive enough on its own without all the bells and whistles the shopping centre itself adds.

The layout of Battersea as a new shopping destination has been well thought through. Ample stairs, escalators and lifts offer visitors many options to travel around, while the clear signage easily directs them to where they want to go. I was particularly impressed with the interactive map.

A downside is the mix of stores available. It is lacking some big high street names and the premium focus may deter some shoppers from further afield than the affluent local catchment. It was also disappointing that the food hall was not yet open to provide a more rounded experience.

Despite this, there are plenty of extra activities that can be enjoyed if visitors want a retail and leisure experience; from Lift 109 for the thrill seekers, to the cinema for those looking to chill out, and crazy golf for those young at heart.

For consumers looking for a new destination to explore that has elements of history in south London, alongside options to dine, relax and shop, Battersea Power Station offers that – and has the potential for more.