- The retail, leisure and placemaking agency P-Three has been tasked with sourcing new sites for Wahaca as the brand looks to return to its UK expansion. The agency is targeting spaces of approximately 2,500 to 4,500sq ft in a range of areas, including Cambridge, Manchester and Glasgow, as well as London-based sites such as Victoria and King’s Cross. The move will herald Wahaca’s return to the expansion trail and see it once again look to grow across the UK after a prolonged period of stasis since it closed more than a third of its estate back in 2020.
- Market Halls has secured £11m in funding from OakNorth to support the next phase of its national growth. The business, which currently operates four London venues in Victoria, Paddington, Oxford Street and Canary Wharf as well as Shelter Hall in Brighton, will also use the funding to help with the acquisition of new sites. The brand is keen to grow outside of London, underpinned by a confidence in the long-term outlook for the UK’s eating and drinking sector, which is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 3.1% by 2028, but has also said it will continue to invest in experience-led initiatives across its existing portfolio.
- The London-based modern Indian group Kricket, founded by Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell, plans to open its first international site in Dubai later this year. Campbell says the group had secured a site that was all designed with building work about to begin. He said that the project, which had already been delayed, was looking to open around mid- to late summer; however, with the ongoing Iran-US war, he suggested it may be pushed back further to an October launch. The restaurant will operate under a franchise, though Campbell and Bowlby will be closely involved.
- Ed Templeton, Naz Hassan and The White Lotus Star Theo James, the team behind the Roman-inspired restaurant LUPA, will open a second restaurant in the capital next month. Ornella, a Milanese-inspired restaurant, will take up residence on Wilton Way in London Fields, offering classic dishes from Northern Italy, where head chef Hassan was raised. The menu has been created in partnership with chef Alessandro Boscolo and will follow the classic antipasti, primi, secondi, dolci structure, with dishes such as mondeghili meatballs; penne alla vodka; and risotto alla Milanese. Signature dishes will include vitello tonnato; ‘elephant’s ear’ cotoletto di vitello; and desserts like mille foglie alle fragole; and zuppa Inglese.
- Marceline in Canary Wharf appears to have ceased trading less than two years after opening, with booking systems offline and reports from local workers that the restaurant is no longer trading despite still being listed as open on Google. The status of its sister venue, Horvada, is also uncertain, as it similarly has no online booking available. Both sites were launched in summer 2024 by chef-restaurateur Hus Vedat. The apparent closure follows the shutdown of Horvada’s Rupert Street location last year.