Time Out to open London market at Waterloo station

Media and entertainment business Time Out Group has signed a conditional lease agreement to open a new Time Out Market in its home city of London, it announced on Thursday, with planning already granted.

The AIM-traded firm said the market would be located in the Waterloo area, in central London and near the popular Southbank precinct.

It was being developed as part of the ‘Waterloo.London’ project - a major retail and leisure development at the old international departures area of Waterloo station, where almost 100 million passengers flowed through every year.

Time Out Market London would bring “the best of the city” together, consisting of food, drinks and cultural experiences based on Time Out’s editorial curation.

Visitors would be able to enjoy 17 of the city's most acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs, three bars and a space for cultural experiences.

With opening expected in 2021, Time Out Market London would occupy 32,500 square feet over two floors, accommodating around 500 seats.

With planning permission already in place, the long-term lease agreement for Time Out Market London in Waterloo station was conditional on obtaining licence approval.

The group said it had a range of funding options available to it in order to finance the capital requirements of the new owned-and-operated market.

Time Out had previously announced a Time Out Market in Spitalfields, for which it was continuing to pursue planning consent with the landlord's backing.

If successful, opening would not occur before the second half of 2020, providing Time Out Market with a presence in both the east and west ends of central London.

“London was the birthplace of Time Out in 1968 so it is a true milestone to bring Time Out Market to our city and in such a fantastic location,” said Time Out chief executive officer Julio Bruno.

“For 50 years we have helped people go out better in the greatest cities around the world and now we are bringing the best of the city to Time Out Market London.”

Bruno said that, as Time Out had transformed into a global media and entertainment business, its professional content about the best things to do in a city remained at the heart of the company.

“This allows us to successfully diversify our iconic brand across digital and physical channels with Time Out Market playing an important role in driving further growth.”