Boxpark Shoreditch confirms closure after rescue talks fail

Boxpark has confirmed its Shoreditch site will close at the end of the summer after talks to extend its lease were unsuccessful.

The shipping container mall has reached the end of its lease and been served notice by landlord Bishopsgate Goodsyard after occupying the site for 12 years.

News of the closure was reported earlier this month while negotiations were still ongoing with the landlord, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and London boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

However, Boxpark failed to reach an agreement and will have to move out of the site to make way for a new development.

Planning permission has been granted to transform the 4.5-hectare space by Shoreditch High Street into a mixed-use scheme with a new park, homes, retail, leisure and office space.

Dubbed ‘the world’s first pop-up mall’, Boxpark Shoreditch became a well-known cultural spot. It has welcomed over 10 million visitors and hosted more than 250 independent retail and restaurant brands in its shipping containers since October 2011.

Staff and tenants at the Shoreditch site have been offered the chance to relocate to Boxpark’s other sites, wth two new London venues due open this year. These will include a shipping container mall at Camden’s Buck Street Market, as well as the first Boxhall premium food and music hall concept at Liverpool Street.

Boxpark chief executive Simon Champion said: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the millions of customers, tenants, and partners we have welcomed and worked with over the last 12 years.

“As a result of their energy and vibrancy, Boxpark Shoreditch has become synonymous with the rise of Shoreditch as the heart of London’s creative industries and we are happy that we have played a role in the wider regeneration of the area along with our track record in delivering jobs and training for local young people, which has delivered significant reductions in deprivation levels in our local community.”

He added that Boxpark hoped to return to Shoreditch “as soon as we find the right opportunity”.

Boxpark opened its first regional location in Liverpool last year and will make open a Boxhall in Bristol in 2025, while a Birmingham launch is in the pipeline.

Boxpark Croydon and Wembley continue to trade as normal.

Image: William Barton / Shutterstock