Shopping centre 'sorry' to see Market Halls site close

The Hall was Market Hall’s first food concept outside London and closed shortly before Christmas after just five months of trading.​​

It opened as part of a 225,000 sq ft expansion of the intu centre last year, which included launches from crazy golf operator Puttshack, Hollywood Bowl, and trampoline park Flipout.

A spokesperson for intu told BigHospitality​: “We know that our visitors are really enjoying the new leisure facilities and dining options at intu Lakeside, with four per cent footfall growth at the centre since the launch of the leisure extension.

“In addition to this we’ve received extremely encouraging feedback from our brand customers both within the development and the existing mall.”

They added that the decision to close The Hall was a ‘commercial one’ taken by the business’s owners.

“We’re committed to supporting and working with all of our retail and leisure customers to succeed and we’re always sorry to see a store close. We wish everyone affected all the very best.”

A spokesperson for Market Halls says the closure was partly due to its traders struggling with low footfall, and delays to the opening of other tenants in the scheme.

Market Halls has opened three London food halls since 2018 in Victoria, Fulham and the West End.