Alain Ducasse to open new store in London’s Borough Yards

Alain Ducasse is to open another London store at Borough Yards, based on his La Manufacture concept in Paris.

The store will occupy 1,400 sq ft of space and serve chocolate and ice cream manufactured from the in-store kitchen in a London first for Ducasse.

The chef operates almost 30 chocolate shops across France and London, with stores in the capital located in Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross, and Oxford Street’s Selfridges.

Designed by architects SPPARC, Borough Yards is home to 13,000 sq m of mixed commercial and public space. The £300m regeneration project has seen a series of Victorian rail arches and industrial buildings restored, as well as three historic London streets – Clink Yard, Stonecutters Yard and Dirty Lane, where Le Manufacture de Chocolat will be located.

The lease was secured by advisor Gillingham Bell. Co-founder James Bell said: “Mr Ducasse’s Manufacture de chocolat was born from his desire to get to the roots and the true essence of what makes chocolate: the work of a craftsman. Given the rich food and craftmanship heritage of Borough Market, it was a natural fit when considering location plus there was a perfect connection between the first La Manufacture in Paris with its authentic, raw, discordant decor and Borough Yard’s combination of the old and new buildings.”

Stéphane Prévidi, international development director at Les Manufactures Alain Ducasse, said: “The opening of this new store in one of London’s most vibrant locations brings a significant advantage to our development strategy. Our Manufactures branch started in 2013 with Le chocolat, then in 2018 with Le café and, more recently La glace and Le biscuit. Altogether, these four Manufactures are present on four markets with more than 30 stores.”

Borough Yards was developed by investment manager MARK. Senior managing director and head of asset management Mark Gamble said: “Borough has all the ingredients to be a fantastic shopping destination but the area has always been marked by a lack of high-quality retail. The arrival of a globally renowned brand like Alain Ducasse illustrates the transformative role that Borough Yards plays in this respect.”

Gillingham Bell has been instructed to seek additional retail stores for La Manufacture de chocolat Alain Ducasse in the UK.

CBRE acted for MARK.