Behind the Counter Podcast: Episode Four Listen Here

Beyond the Counter podcast is back with an episode that gets into the stuff most people skip. I’m joined by Mike Sinclair of Macauley Sinclair, one of the UK’s leading architects and designers in the food hall space, and Fred Carr of Morgan Carr, cost consultant and QS, who lives in the numbers that decide whether a venue makes money or becomes an expensive mistake.

If you are planning a food hall, this is the conversation you need before you spend a penny. We talk about the decisions that lock in cost and performance early, what good layouts really look like once guests and traders are in the building, and where projects go wrong when ambition runs ahead of reality. Mike and Fred also share the common traps they see, from under estimating back of house and services to over promising covers and trading levels that never show up.

It is a practical episode aimed at operators, landlords, and project teams who want a venue that works day in, day out. Expect straight talk on budgets, programme, risk, value engineering, and how to keep quality without setting fire to the financial model. The Next Phase has worked closely with both Mike and Fred, as well as many other experts who can help bring your projects to life.