Time Out restarts plans to open London food market

Time Out Group has confirmed it is in negotiations to open a London food market, three years after it scrapped plans to launch in the capital.

The media and entertainment company pulled out of the development of a 500-seat food hall in London Waterloo in 2020 after the pandemic hit.

It also held talks for a location in London’s Spitalfields, but no site ever opened.

Last week, property website EG Radius reported Time Out is in talks with the Crown Estate to open a market at 10 Piccadilly, a Grade II-listed site on Piccadilly Circus.

The building was constructed in 1925 and was first home to the Swan and Edgar Department Store before becoming the flagship Tower Records store in the 1980s. In recent years it has been used for office and retail space and the Crown Estate is now planning a refurbishment.

Time Out said in a statement: “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.

“The company has not entered into any legally binding arrangements in relation to any London Market and there can therefore be no certainty that the current negotiations will result in a subsequent opening.

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

Time Out opened its first food market in Lisbon, Portugal (pictured) in 2014, which welcomes millions of visitors every year.

It has since expanded to markets in New York, Boston, Montreal, Chicago, Dubai, Cape Town, Porto and Barcelona.

Markets in Bahrain, Osaka, Budapest, Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Prague and Riyadh are listed as ‘coming soon’ on its website.

Image: Luis