The extension of the Northern Line from Kennington to Battersea, will see the creation of two new stations in the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) development area, cementing its establishment as the newest central London Zone 1 district.

The stations, one at Nine Elms and the other at Battersea Power Station, will contribute to the area’s offering, giving the location more of a central London feel in terms of the convenience of the commute to other locations.                     

This will be the first major underground extension in over 30 years and will be the lifeline for the business district, with the VNEB area set to create 25,000 jobs, 2.8 million sq ft of retail and leisure space and 3 million sq ft of office space.

Good public transport connections and length of commute have ranked as the most important considerations for employees in various research including our What Worker’s Want report carried out in association with the BCO. Together with planned public realm improvements, better connectivity will undoubtedly appeal to occupiers considering the area. At present the journey to VNEB from the majority of West End and City sub-markets takes on average 20-30 minutes and involves multiple changes (and different forms of transport in most cases).

The importance of improving the transport links in the area in order to become a competitive office sub-market was demonstrated in 2016 when Apple, one of the most influential global tech firms, agreed to pre-let 500,000 sq ft at Battersea Power Station for the creation of its new campus. This new campus will see around 1,400 employees relocating from various other current central London offices. Apple is expected to play a key role in shaping the surrounding business area, drawing other occupiers as was the case when Google committed to King’s Cross.

IWG, the serviced office giant, has agreed to take the remaining 40,000 sq ft in the power station with the ‘next phase’ of office space set to commence in 2022. The US has already moved its embassy to Nine Elms, and the Dutch Embassy is considering a similar move. Other pre-lets in the area include to publishers Penguin Random House, taking 83,399 sq ft, and DK taking 44,000 sq ft at One Embassy Gardens earlier this year.  

Extending the Northern Line and improving the transport links has helped to push up rents with the most recent deal to Penguin Random House agreed at £55 per sq ft. This is a significant rise from the early-£40s set at the start of 2016 and yet still offers occupiers an attractive discount to other central London sub-markets. With more new office space being launched, rents in the area are on a northbound train.

Further information

Read more: West End Office Market Watch