Work in progress: Time to party?
There was a time when popstars could be seen opening office blocks in London, while developers threw lavish Cristal ‘n’ caviar evenings to celebrate the sale of £50m mansions. Post-crash, these soirees dried up after they were criticised by some as distasteful in the economic climate.
But last week, the Malaysian-owned Battersea Power Station Development Company, which is spending £8bn to transform the industrial landmark into flats worth upwards of £1m, invited prospective and confirmed buyers to an inaugural party to be serenaded by none other than Sir Elton John. Wearing glasses in the shape of the famous chimney stacks, even he seemed overwhelmed to be performing literally inside a Pink Floyd album cover to a 2,500-strong audience. Still, the celebrity-stuffed party must have impressed because the developer reports that fewer than a dozen of the 254 flats now remain on the market, with £500m of property sold within days of the release, in what’s being referred to as the fastest ever sale in its price bracket in London.