MM Factory food market to open in Elephant & Castle

Food market operator Mercato Metropolitano has signed up to operate a 17,500 sq ft retail and dining space in London, due to open this summer.

The space will be located within Elephant Park, a £2.3b regeneration project in partnership between property group Lendlease and Southwark Council. It will feature small restaurants and sustainable food concepts from around the world, and heritage and organic grains will also be milled on-site.

Founded in Milan in 2015, the Mercato Metropolitano concept focuses on community and sustainability. It launched its first market in the UK in Elephant & Castle in 2016 and features 48 food and beverage businesses, a delicatessen with sustainably sourced products from local farmers and artisans, a communal kitchen, a Bavarian micro-brewery and a mushroom garden.

Guy Thomas, head of retail at Lendlease, said: "The new MM Factory from Mercato Metropolitano will bring a vibrant and varied offer to Elephant Park serving Elephant & Castle's diverse community."

Andrea Rasca, founder of Mercato Metropolitano, added: "The Mercato Metropolitano ecosystem is all about community, a place for an ongoing dialogue between local people, farmers, chefs, retailer and artists, and we cannot think of a better place to build upon this community with a new approach to urban retail than Elephant Park."

Nash Bond and CF Commercial represented Lendlease.