An unusual alliance is shaping one of London’s most ambitious new cultural destinations. British Land, one of the UK’s largest listed property companies, is in exclusive talks with Broadwick Live, an independent culture‑driven operator best known for experimental night‑time venues rather than conventional, long‑term cultural institutions.

After running the hugely successful “meanwhile use” version of Printworks from 2017 – 2023, where they delivered more than 300 music concerts, 200 film shoots and attracted over 2.5 million visitors, Broadwick Live is now set to operate its permanent successor, a rare example of a pop‑up cultural brand being institutionalised into a major regeneration project.

For British Land, typically aligned with commercial developers, retailers and workspace operators, a deep, long‑term partnership with an independent music and cultural organisation marks a striking departure.

“Broadwick proved the viability and desirability of a major cultural venue at Canada Water”, says David Walters, Programme Director at British Land. “Unlike traditional developer-operator relationships, we allowed a temporary cultural use to inform and shape the long‑term masterplanning. Broadwick’s success didn’t just fit the plan; it changed the plan.”

The relationship evolved over years of collaboration, continues Walters. “Broadwick demonstrated operational reliability, placemaking expertise, and audience loyalty, giving British Land confidence to embed the operator into the strategic future of the site.”

The experience taught British Land the importance of treating meanwhile uses as genuine tests, not placeholders: “Temporary projects can provide valuable insights into what audiences want and how space performs.”

David’s advice is to choose partners who bring cultural credibility and community connection. “Operators like Broadwick demonstrate that cultural expertise, brand recognition, and the ability to build loyal audiences can be as important as financial strength. And align commercial and cultural objectives early. Mixed‑use schemes thrive when cultural and commercial elements reinforce each other rather than compete.”

The Amp in Aldgate has quickly become one of London’s most distinctive new education and innovation hubs, not just for its mix of creative and digital tenants, but for the unconventional partnership behind it. The project brought together Trilogy Real Estate, a regeneration‑driven developer, and LaSalle Investment Management, a global institutional investor more often associated with long‑term, risk‑balanced portfolios, and Nottingham Trent University.

Together, they transformed a former London Metropolitan University site into a 135,000 – 150,000 sq ft campus for creative education, digital skills and industry‑ready learning, showing how imaginative developers, institutional capital and occupiers can collaborate to deliver a new kind of privately financed urban education district.

Trilogy founder Robert Wolstenholme recalls that Craig Chettle, Executive Dean of Nottingham Trent University, was seeking a London home for the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies. Robert knew he would feel at home in Aldgate and Whitechapel’s creative ecosystem. They met at the Whitechapel Gallery, walked down Brick Lane, past the studio where Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded, and arrived at the unremarkable building.

“I said, ignore what you’re looking at, you’re a creative, Craig. Let’s turn this into a hotbed of vocational higher education for people entering the creative industries. ‘I love it,’ he said.”

At the time, the Department for Education still owned the building and had it under offer to others planning labs and student housing. But with a pre‑let secured, Robert and Craig pitched to the DofE and then to LaSalle.

“LaSalle’s investment committee said they wouldn’t do it without a fixed‑price contract. So I had to juggle everything and find a contractor willing to take it on, and with Nottingham Trent, we were able to bring in a further education provider, Access Creative. Piecing the whole thing together was really complicated, lots of unlikely bedfellows.”

Robert says this is often the nature of his work: “I’m often trying to do the impossible, bringing different parties together and matching a building to a pre‑let to institutional money. Institutions are always looking to de‑risk things. You need to understand the risks they worry about – planning, construction costs, leasing – and have a solid solution. They also need the right returns for the risk they’re taking.”

He adds that government is increasingly part of this mix: “I’m looking at ways of involving government and helping with their growth agenda. I am increasingly thinking of them as my new bedfellow.”

Photograph courtesy of the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies