“I hope I am there to agitate – a little bit of grit in an oyster to bring another point of view,” says Henry Dimbleby of his appointment to the new Revo strategic board.
Dimbleby, the co-founder of fast food restaurant chain Leon and street food market company London Union, will sit alongside landlords, developers and local authorities on the new board of the industry body, which will aim to support all businesses in the retail property and place-making sectors.
Pockets of hope
While his roots are in the restaurant trade, his experience with the real estate industry since founding Leon in 2004 means Dimbleby has some clear-cut ideas on what the sector needs to do to evolve in the face of challenging headwinds.
“I’m not from a corporate property background at all,” he says. However, he says as a life-long Londoner, he is aware of areas where the property sector needs to improve. “Since the war we have been developing cities in really horrific ways, focusing more on the buildings than the people. We have been doing a terrible job over the past few years, but I think we are beginning to see pockets of hope,” he says.
One of the issues with the industry, he believes, is the tendency to focus on returns rather than creating spaces. “We are finally coming out of a very dark patch of thinking that it is all about money. It is not just about buildings, it is about creating spaces for people to live in. While it may cost more in the very short term it will not only make the UK a better place, but it will also translate as a better return on investments.”
The cream of the crop
Increasing business rates, issues with employees, immigration and food price inflation are just some of the headwinds that the F&B industry is facing. “F&B is facing a really tough few years,” says Dimbleby. “I think we will see more consolidation and insolvencies in the sector.”
But this may not necessarily be a bad thing. He continues: “You don’t see that many places where you think ‘My God that was incredible. Why did it go insolvent?’ They’re a natural part of the cycle.”
With a constant stream of new F&B openings in London and across the country, successful newcomers can put existing businesses under pressure. “But actually, this is the period where you really get the good stuff. What can survive through this period will come out being the brands of the future,” he says.
Dimbleby knows a thing or two about making a brand that can survive. Since founding Leon in 2004 alongside John Vincent, the chain now has more than 50 branches, and is still growing.
Dimbleby is now taking his brand abroad. Having signed a deal for Leon’s first Scandinavian site, the US is the next stop.
“When we started Leon we felt that fast food didn’t have to be bad food, and that there would be two or three global players that would challenge McDonalds and Burger King. We wanted to be one of those, and our ambition has always been for it to be thousands of restaurants worldwide, and that continues to be the case.”
And his ambitious expansion plans don’t stop there. Dimbleby and London Union co-founder Jonathan Downey are looking to create a permanent version of their Street Feast concept – weekend street food markets on disused sites in London – and have been looking for a permanent site in the capital over the past couple of years.
Although finding the right sized site and navigating planning and licensing laws has been a challenge, Dimbleby is adamant that it will happen. London Union is looking for 40,000 sq ft for a flagship in central London where it could trade seven days a week.
Best in the world
“We still want to open the best market in the world in the centre of London,” he says.
London Union also has its sights set on the regions, with Manchester and Bristol both earmarked for future markets. And despite the emergence of competitors such as Time Out, which is looking for a London site following the success of its venture in Lisbon, Dimbleby believes the London Union model is unique and can work anywhere.
“We think it is an international proposition. We have developed an understanding of how to take those spaces and we haven’t seen anyone doing what we’re doing anywhere in the world. I think there is an opportunity to take those dark sites and lighten them up, not just in London but around the world.”
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