Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse to open in London’s Borough Yards
The new Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse will be a 1,400sq ft venue and will serve chocolate and ice cream manufactured from the site’s in-store kitchen – in what is a London first for the French chef.
Ducasse operates around 30 chocolate shops across France and London, with stores in the capital located in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, and Oxford Street’s Selfridges. The chef is looking to grow the brand's presence in the UK, with more sites currently being sought.
“The opening of this new store in one of London’s most vibrant locations brings a significant advantage to our development strategy. Our Manufactures branch started in 2013 with Le chocolat, then in 2018 with Le café and, more recently La glace and Le biscuit,” says Stéphane Prévidi, international development director at Les Manufactures Alain Ducasse.
“Altogether, these four Manufactures are present on four markets with more than 30 stores.”
The lease was secured by hospitality advisor Gillingham Bell.
“Mr Ducasse’s Manufacture de chocolat was born from his desire to get to the roots and the true essence of what makes chocolate: the work of a craftsman,” says James Bell of Gillingham Bell.
“Given the rich food and craftmanship heritage of Borough Market, it was a natural fit when considering location plus there was a perfect connection between the first La Manufacture in Paris with its authentic, raw, discordant decor and Borough Yard’s combination of the old and new buildings.”
Gillingham Bell is instructed to seek additional retail stores for La Manufacture de chocolat Alain Ducasse in the UK and is working throughout Europe alongside partners Retail Bespoke.
