Time Out revives plan for London market

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Time Out Group has confirmed it is in negotiations to launch its first food hall in London, nearly four years after the group jettisoned plans to open in the capital.

It follows a report from property website EG Radius, which said the media and hospitality group is in talks with the Crown Estate to open at 10 Piccadilly and 55 Regent Street, W1, which fronts onto Piccadilly Circus.

Some 27,932sq ft of space across the basement, ground and first floors is subject to a pending change-of-use application from retail to food hall lodged with Westminster Council.

In a statement, Time Out said it had not entered any legally binding arrangements in relation to a London Market, and there is ‘no certainty’ that the current negotiations will result in a subsequent opening.

“Time Out confirms that the company is in negotiations in relation to a potential London Market as part of a pipeline of further global locations in the ordinary course of business,” it said.

“Further announcements will be made as and when appropriate.”

If the deal does go ahead, it will be the culmination of a near decade-long saga.

Time Out originally announced plans back in 2016 to open a market near Spitalfields, but Tower Hamlets Council denied the application.

The group subsequently signed a lease agreement for a 32,500sq ft site in the former International Eurostar Terminal in Waterloo, but the opening was officially jettisoned in early 2021 due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Described as ‘unique and iconic’ in planning documents, the Piccadilly Circus site was originally designed as one of London’s first multi-storey department stores for Swan & Edgar in the 1920s.

It was later home to Tower Records and then a Virgin Megastore.

The first Time Out Market opened in 2014 in Lisbon and is said to be the Portugal’s most popular attraction.

Other sites include New York, Boston, Montreal, Chicago, Dubai, Cape Town, Porto and Barcelona.