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Time Out will open a market in Piccadilly Circus for the first time in its home city, in what it said will be a global flagship for its food hall portfolio.

The Aim-listed media and hospitality group said it had secured the site on 55 Regent Street, owned by the Crown Estate, to open Time Out Market London in summer 2028.

It first announced its plans to open the site in 2024, raising £8.4million through a share placing to launch in London and a second New York hall.

It came four years after Time Out ditched plans to open a 500-seat market in Waterloo after the pandemic hit and also reportedly held talks over a location in Spitalfields.

Time Out said its new Grade II listed Piccadilly site will span 26,400 sq ft and house a 'carefully selected mix' of 15 restaurants, bars and food businesses.

Time Out opened its first market in Lisbon in 2014 and has since expanded its portfolio to 13 halls

Time Out's editorial team created its first market in Lisbon in 2014 before expanding across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

It now operates 13 markets, including two in New York, one in Barcelona and one in Dubai, with more than 12million annual visitors.

It has five additional markets currently in development, in Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Prague, Riyadh and São Paulo.

Time Out will face stiff competition as more food halls have opened across the capital even as rising energy and labour costs have forced restaurants to close.

Market Halls, which was founded in 2018, runs four food halls in Victoria, Oxford Street, Canary Wharf and Paddington, and is looking to expand to 10 sites by 2028.

Chris Ohlund, chief executive of Time Out Group, said: 'Securing this partnership with The Crown Estate to create our global flagship in the heart of Piccadilly Circus is one of the most significant milestones in Time Out's nearly 60-year history.

'Bringing the globally recognised Time Out Market concept home to London is both a celebration of where we began and a statement of where we are going.'

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