Fabrix fills up a further third of Southwark’s Bottle Factory

A duo of occupiers have signed up for Fabrix’s repurposed Victorian warehouse space off the Old Kent Road, SE1, in the London Borough of Southwark. The deals, for a combined 9,400 sq ft of space, were signed for 15 years at rents of around £30 per sq ft, according to a market source. Thames Distillers will establish a distillery, offices, tasting rooms and cocktail bar at a 3,400 sq ft stand-alone building at the site. The gin-maker is relocating from its former facility in Clapham. Hej Coffee will open the UK’s first all-electric coffee roastery on the ground floor of the development later this year. The combined roastery, offices and servery will span 6,000 sq ft of space. An additional 1,100 sq ft of space has been let across studio space to multiple small businesses, taking the total space recently leased to 10,500 sq ft. The premises, at 12 Ossory Road, known as the Bottle Factory and measuring 32,200 sq ft, were built in 1895, originally as John Mills and Sons’ Bottling Works, producing bottles of mineral water, lemonade and ginger beer. Following the restoration, the scheme provides traditional workspace alongside studios, ranging from 140 to 420 sq ft, for one- to six-person businesses. Debbie Whitfield, director of impact at Fabrix, said: “The Bottle Factory is a set of former industrial buildings tucked away in an area of London that is undergoing change, and we at Fabrix are bringing them back into modern, sustainable use. It is now home to a growing community of local makers, creatives and urban industry, drawing on the warehouse’s history and the Old Kent Road’s long-standing enterprise and creativity.” View letting comparables in Southwark >> Photo © Fabrix