Apple to create London home at Battersea Power Station Published duration 28 September 2016

image copyright BBC/Getty Images image caption About 1,400 Apple staff will be based at the former power station

Technology giant Apple is to make Battersea Power Station the home of its new London headquarters.

The famed Grade II listed building, which features four towering chimneys, is currently undergoing a multibillion-pound restoration.

The firm will become the largest office tenant at the former electricity generator, with 1,400 staff across six floors in the central boiler house.

An Apple spokesperson called the move a "great opportunity" for the company.

It said it would mean "its entire team [could] work and collaborate in one location while supporting the renovation of a neighbourhood rich with history".

image caption The former coal-fired power station has stood unoccupied for decades

image copyright PA image caption A multibillion-pound restoration of the former electricity generator is currently taking place

The former coal-fired power station has stood unoccupied for decades on the banks of the River Thames.

Rob Tincknell, Battersea Power Station Development Company's CEO, said the new headquarters would "undoubtedly help" turn the area into "one of London's most thriving new communities".

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said Apple's decision was "a further sign that London is open to the biggest brands in the world", while Chancellor Philip Hammond called it "another vote of confidence in the UK economy".

Dato' Johan Ariffin, chairman of Battersea Holding Company Limited, said: "This move by a brand of such calibre will serve to generate even more interest in Battersea."

Apple employees will move from various London offices into the building in 2021, taking up 40% of the space within the power station.

image copyright PA image caption Margaret Thatcher was photographed visiting the shell of the power station in 1988

image copyright PA image caption A giant inflatable pig was flown above the building for the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals - here it is recreated in 2011, 35 years after the record was released