Make Shift has appointed Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) as it looks to purchase or lease sites with development potential across the capital spanning up to 150,000 sq ft.

Make Shift designs, builds and manages new public destinations that house communities of local, independent businesses. Its projects are focused on providing affordable space that champions local talent in communities working with all types of real estate owners. 

Its first project Pop Brixton transformed a derelict 14,000 sq ft plot of land in South London, into a thriving community of over 50 independent businesses working in food, retail, social enterprise and the creative industries. Since opening in 2015, it has attracted c.1.5 million visitors a year acting as a platform for, and supporting, local talent including providing 200 free community events. Pop Brixton adds £9m into the local economy each year and supports 250 full time jobs, of which 75% have gone to local residents. 

Make Shift’s second project Peckham Levels opened its doors in December 2017 and has transformed 90,000 sq ft of an underused multistorey car park in South East London into a hive of workspace for local creative workers and small businesses. It covers 7 levels, has 87 independent businesses on site, receives more than 750,000 visitors each year and has provided over 4000 jobs to local residents. 

Its latest project Clarnico Quay near Hackney Wick in East London will serve the local community with a total area of c65,000 sq ft comprising a food hall, event venues, bars, restaurant, retail and public space – while curating areas for light industrial businesses, offices, co-working spaces, and studios for designers and artists. 

Alex Lowry, Director – London, at Lambert Smith Hampton commented:

“Working with Make Shift continues to be a breath of fresh air within a changing real estate landscape. They saw the need to develop, build and curate real estate in a different way to the rest of the market five years ago and have now delivered two phenomenal projects in London - POP Brixton and Peckham Levels - with a third being developed in Hackney Wick. 

“In light of Covid-19, we believe Make Shift’s model will yield fantastic results for their members (tenants) as we anticipate a move towards the increasing importance of local communities post lockdown. Typically, Make Shift reconfigure large spaces and develop them into small, more affordable, flexible areas for local businesses including retail, food & beverage, studios, maker spaces and co-working offices. This is something we believe London and the rest of the country is craving to deliver affordable rents, flexible terms and a thriving community. Given Make Shift has been championing this approach for some time, they are likely to be very well placed to emerge from the crisis in the best possible way.

“Currently we have three sites in negotiation with some of the largest institutional forward thinking landlords, and we are looking to deliver a strong pipeline for Make Shift well into the future.”

Nathan Gee, Commercial Director at Make Shift, commented:

“Working with LSH as a collaborative partner continues to be both an enjoyable and encouraging experience. Encouraging because a large market real estate firm is fluid enough to change its mindset and invest time and resource to work with a new and disruptive market influencer such as Make Shift. Enjoyable because LSH has provided valuable knowledge with regard to both the open market and niche opportunities which will showcase Make Shift's unique, purpose driven regeneration schemes. It is overwhelmingly exciting to see how far this collaboration could go towards re-shaping an industry that in the past has at times been accused of genuflecting at the altar of commerciality.”