TGP International, in collaboration with NLA, has launched a new report, The Role of F&B & Hospitality in Placemaking & Urban Development, exploring how food, beverage and hospitality are shaping the future of cities, mixed-use developments and urban destinations. 

The report emphasises the increasingly important role F&B and hospitality play in how urban developments are planned, experienced and valued. It also highlights key commercial signals of this shift, including F&B leading retail and leisure occupier demand in Central London for more than seven years, while in many retail and mixed-use developments, food and beverage can now account for up to 30 percent of leasable space. 

Among its key conclusions, the report calls for F&B to be considered from the earliest stages of masterplanning, rather than introduced after core development decisions have already been made. It argues that dining environments now play a central role in shaping footfall, public realm activation, local identity, social value and long-term asset performance. 

The report also identifies several key themes shaping the role of F&B and hospitality in urban development, including hospitality as a driver of placemaking, food hubs as social and cultural anchors, hospitality as social infrastructure, experience-led destinations, local identity and destination dining as a real estate strategy. 

Drawing on insights gathered through a series of roundtable discussions hosted at TGP International’s office in collaboration with NLA, the report brings together perspectives from across the built environment, including leading developers, major landowners, planners, architects, urban designers, asset owners, local authorities, BIDs and placemaking specialists. Contributors include The Crown Estate, British Land, Gensler, Canary Wharf Group, The Earls Court Development Company, the Greater London Authority, the City of London Corporation, Heart of London Business Alliance, The Portman Estate, Benoy, Heatherwick Studio and Eastern City BID. 

“Successful urban environments are increasingly being shaped around an integrated mix of retail, dining and experiences. Food and beverage has become a strategic layer within development, shaping how people interact with places, how communities connect and how destinations generate long-term economic and social value,” said Simon Wright, Founder and Chairman of TGP International. “The insights from the roundtables reinforce our belief that collaboration across sectors and organisations is crucial to getting things right for our cities, both commercially and culturally.” 

“Food and beverage is a vital component of successful placemaking,” said Nick McKeogh, Chief Executive of NLA. “This report highlights the role of hospitality within the built environment and our cities, as well as the importance of bringing hospitality into the conversation earlier, ensuring its wider benefits are considered not only as a commercial offer, but as part of how places function, connect and evolve for the benefit of residents across the city.” 

Collectively, contributors highlighted the need for more collaborative, area-wide approaches to ground-floor activation, combining culture, leisure and F&B to create successful, vibrant places.