New Covent Garden Market has unveiled the first phase of its £130m development which will see it become London’s dominant food hub and an incubator for the UK’s brightest and most exciting up-and-coming food makers, creators and thinkers. The Food Exchange is a workspace, kitchen space and food culture venue that will form the first stage of the Food Quarter – a vibrant, creative food industry campus and serious food destination – cementing the market’s position at the epicentre of the London culinary scene. It will also start the process of New Covent Garden Market becoming to food what Canary Wharf is to finance, and Old Street is to the tech industry.
Totalling 40,000 sq ft of lettable space and spanning three floors and three outdoor roof terraces, the Food Exchange facility is the first of its kind in the UK. It will bring together all species of food entrepreneurs under one roof, giving them a unique place to create, innovate and collaborate. It will house Mission Kitchen, London’s largest and most inspiring shared kitchen, alongside private studios, with space for over 130 businesses working in food. It will also be an exciting food culture destination and a place for Londoners to cook, learn and eat together.Daniel Tomkinson, CEO of Covent Garden Market Authority, said: “London is already widely recognised as one of the creative and cultural capitals of the world attracting established and emerging talent from around the globe. The Food Exchange will foster exciting food entrepreneurs and nurture the innovation of new start-ups on the journey to becoming the next big force in London’s food scene. New Covent Garden Market has long been the home of pioneering enterprise and food expertise, making The Food Exchange a very natural next step in the market’s illustrious food story.”
Private studios are ready to rent from 1st February 2018 for all types and sizes of businesses working in food, including food magazines, photographers, producers, PR agencies, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, startups, recipe developers, stylists, writers and more in the array of stylish offices. The building will house a unique and incomparable community of the food industry’s movers and shakers, who will be able to thrive on and benefit from new connections and a vibrant creative atmosphere.