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About Our Expertise
Our Services
Market Hall Consultancy
We help clients turn conventional or underperforming market halls into dynamic, well-used community assets. Drawing on decades of first-hand experience operating and managing market estates across the UK, we deliver practical, operationally grounded advice — not just theory. Whether you’re starting a new market hall from scratch or seeking to modernise an existing one, we work with you to define a concept, shape physical layouts, plan trader mix, and embed sustainable revenue streams.
Our approach balances respect for traditional market values with a forward-looking development strategy. We collaborate with local authorities, landlords, design teams and stakeholders to ensure commercial viability while creating a vibrant community hub that supports footfall, trader retention and long-term town-centre resilience.
Food Hall Creation and Development
We specialise in turning suitable properties into vibrant food halls — from small community-focused venues to large-scale flagship destinations. Our process starts with rigorously testing location potential: analysing footfall, demographics, existing food landscape and local demand to ensure a food hall makes sense.
Once that’s confirmed, we define a tailored operational model: vendor mix, cuisine styles, spatial layout, customer flow, seating and logistics — all aimed at delivering a food experience that feels fresh, relevant and rooted in the local community. Our goal is to build a food hall concept that doesn’t just look good on paper, but works in real life.
Markets, Events, and Festivals
We support the design, planning and delivery of markets, events and festivals tailored to local needs and economic goals. By curating events that draw footfall, encourage community engagement and support small businesses, we help breathe life into underutilised spaces — from traditional open-air markets to more experimental food, retail or cultural festivals.
Our experience means we don’t just plan events — we build them around the operational realities of venues, trader capacity, footfall management and stakeholder dynamics. This ensures that events drive real impact, not temporary spikes.
Business Case Development
We help clients craft robust, commercially grounded business cases — often Green Book-compliant — to support funding bids, investor pitches or procurement processes. Given our deep experience with market halls, food halls, regeneration schemes and high-street repurposing, we combine strategic vision with rigorous financial modelling to show both social value and clear commercial returns.
Our business case service isn’t just about numbers. We consider long-term sustainability, community impact, operational feasibility and risk mitigation — providing a comprehensive, realistic foundation for decision-making, board-level approval or public-sector procurement.
Competitive Socialising and Experiential Leisure
We create lively, modern leisure offers that go beyond dining or retail — combining socialising, entertainment, games, and immersive experiences to draw diverse audiences. As demand grows for experiences over standard retail, we design concepts that fill the gap: delivering social venues that attract repeat visits, dwell time and cross-spend.
Our strength lies in blending hospitality know-how with leisure-industry insight. Whether it’s a new concept or revamping an existing space, we align entertainment formats, layout, operations and customer journey to deliver destinations.
Explore our Competitive Socialising and Experiential Leisure service
Co-working, Studio and Work Spaces
We help repurpose underutilised properties into flexible, modern workspaces — co-working zones, studios or hybrid “third-spaces” — designed for freelancers, small businesses, creatives and remote workers. By delivering a functional and commercially sound workspace offer, we help landlords diversify revenue streams while supporting local entrepreneurs. Our approach reflects the benefits of coworking: shared infrastructure, community, flexibility and lower overhead than traditional offices.
We integrate thoughtful design, community-building and operational planning to create spaces that work day-to-day — from layout and desk/office mix to community events and services. This ensures the space isn’t just perceived as workspace, but becomes a hub for collaboration, creativity and sustainable occupancy.
Repurposing Vacant or Under-utilised Space
Our speciality is spotting untapped potential: heritage buildings, vacant shops, underused halls and stranded assets. We apply an adaptive reuse mindset to convert them into revenue-generating, community-enhancing assets. Whether through markets, food halls, coworking, leisure or mixed-use schemes, we find the right use that works commercially and socially.
We deliver a full-service transformation: from feasibility studies and concept development through to planning, design recommendations and business modelling. The result: spaces that might otherwise remain derelict become vibrant destinations that support footfall, tenant mix and long-term town-centre vitality.
Explore our Repurposing Vacant or Under-utilised Space service
Engagement and Consultation
We work collaboratively with stakeholders — local authorities, landlords, community groups, potential tenants and designers — to ensure every project reflects community needs and commercial reality. Our consultation process helps shape concepts that are locally rooted and broadly supported, reducing risk and strengthening buy-in.
Through structured engagement, market research, stakeholder interviews and consultation workshops, we help define realistic visions and delivery strategies. This ensures that as schemes evolve from concept to delivery, they remain aligned with both public interest and business objectives.
Stranded Asset Redevelopment and Reuse
We specialise in identifying and unlocking value in stranded or underutilised assets — properties that sit idle, underperform, or fall outside traditional commercial use. Our expertise lies in applying creative, context-sensitive strategies to convert these liabilities into productive, revenue-generating assets. Whether it’s an old industrial building, a vacant retail unit, or a disused civic hall, we assess the site’s potential, local demand, planning constraints and financial viability to propose the most appropriate reuse — from markets and food halls to mixed-use spaces or coworking environments.
Beyond feasibility and concept, we work through the full redevelopment journey. That includes stakeholder engagement, design and layout advice, business modelling, and long-term operational planning. Our goal is to deliver a practical and sustainable transformation- one that activates dormant assets, supports local economies, revitalises town centres and delivers long-lasting value for owners, communities and councils alike.
Our Team
Simon Anderson
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Simon Anderson is a respected figure in the hospitality industry. He is known for his creativity and ability to identify and nurture new talent. Simon is a thought leader in the food hall industry. He has spoken at industry events and written articles about the future of food halls that have shaped how the industry has evolved in the UK.
In an interview with The Caterer, Simon said his goals are to "create spaces where people can come together to eat, drink, and be entertained." He believes that food halls can play an important role in creating a sense of community and bringing people together, as well as deliver commercial assets in underperforming spaces.
Simon is an experienced hospitality consultant working on exciting projects in the UK and worldwide. Most recently, working with revolutionary food business Sessions, owners of Shelter Hall in Brighton. Simon advised on the food and beverage strategy for the $5bn Msheireb Downtown project in Doha, a major urban regeneration project that includes a new food hall. He worked with the owners of The Old Dairy Food Hall in Selfoss, Iceland, to renovate the historic dairy factory and transform it into a popular food hall.
Simon has helped develop a football-based competitive socialising concept with three premiership legends. The concept, which is still in the early stages, will feature food, drinks, and games inspired by football.
He has also redeveloped two of the UK's most iconic factories into mixed-use concepts anchored by food halls. The projects are still in the planning stages, but have the potential to create new and exciting dining destinations.
Previously, he worked as the Chief Operations & Creative Officer of Market Hall, helping it grow from an idea to the UK’s leading food hall business with multiple sites. Awarded ‘Opening of the Year’ at Restaurant Magazine’s R200 Awards, the ‘Re:lax’ and ‘Re:tail’ awards at the Revo Gold Awards, ‘Occupier of the Year’ by Property Week, ‘Best Destination Opening’ at the CGA Hero & Icons Awards and shortlisted as ‘Best Venue’ at the Retailers’ Retailer Awards 2020.
Simon has experience with several ground-breaking brands across multiple sectors, including food and drink, coworking, art, digital marketing and advertising.
Hayden Ferriby
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Hayden Ferriby is an experienced entrepreneur and consultant with over 25 years of experience in retail and hospitality. His expertise lies in revitalising town centres and dispelling the notion that high streets are dying. With a strong track record, he excels in creating vibrant, sustainable, community-focused public spaces, markets, and food halls.
Commencing his property career as a consultant, Hayden specialised in boosting revenue and footfall for shopping centres and retail parks. He identified underused areas and developed new revenue streams, pioneering experiential and pop-up marketing in retail environments.
Hayden co-founded Next Phase to create a company that identified assets which needed repurposing, with the Next Phase team working with local authorities and landlords to identify underused or vacant spaces, repurposing them into assets driving revenue and footfall through innovative commercial uses.
Earlier in his career, he joined Quarterbridge as a director, playing a pivotal role in redeveloping successful markets such as Brixton Markets, the Doncaster Market estate, and Crewe Market Hall.
For five years, he was the director in charge of all operations for Market Asset Management, one of the UK's largest market and food hall operators, managing all elements of five major assets, which include fourteen distinct markets, food halls, and competitive leisure operations, including one of the largest market estates in the UK.
In 2021, Hayden co-founded Market Curators, a market specialist company focusing on modernising markets. They've undertaken high-profile projects, creating new ventures and transforming existing ones.
A strong advocate for small businesses and local communities, especially within markets and food halls, Hayden sees them as catalysts for economic growth and cultural vibrancy. He's skilled at navigating the political intricacies of town centre projects and engaging stakeholders effectively.
His approach centres around creating versatile commercial and social hubs that cater to activities, dining, entertainment, and shopping. Each location is tailored to the community's specific needs, reflecting Hayden's commitment to unique impact.
Hayden has been appointed to the High Streets Task Force and became a member of the Institute of Place Management.
Emma Forbes
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Emma Forbes is a commercial strategist and regeneration specialist with extensive experience shaping market and food hall developments across the UK. As Co-Founder and Director of Next Phase, she leads commercial planning, business case development and trader engagement across a national portfolio of projects. With involvement in over 60 regeneration schemes, Emma’s work combines strategic insight with practical, delivery-focused expertise.
She has played a key role in the mobilisation and operation of some of the UK’s most high-profile market redevelopments, including Doncaster Wool Market, Crewe Market Hall, and Darlington Market. In her previous role as Business Development Manager at Market Asset Management, Emma was responsible for tenancy development, trader support and commercial operations across a multi-site estate of indoor and outdoor markets, food halls and civic venues.
Emma is a qualified CIPFA practitioner in Better Business Cases, with particular expertise in delivering Green Book-compliant business cases, detailed financial forecasts, and more commercial plans to support both public sector funding bids and private sector business planning. She frequently works at the intersection of feasibility and live delivery, ensuring projects are commercially viable, locally grounded, and aligned with long-term regeneration goals.
She has worked directly with hundreds of traders and small businesses, supporting them from enquiry to completed lease and through into mobilisation and business development. Her approach blends modern outreach with a rigorous, strategic assessment process, curating diverse, independent-led tenant mixes that reflect local identity and attract footfall. From 2020 - 2024, she worked alongside Hayden to launch five new market and food hall venues, and her first major event, the Darlington Food and Drink Festival, was awarded Best UK Food Market by NABMA.
At Next Phase, Emma leads commercial strategy and trader development across a range of market and town centre regeneration projects. She is a member of the Institute of Place Management, the Association of Town and City Management, and a founding member of High Street Positives, reflecting her active contribution to national conversations on the future of high streets and market-led regeneration.
Her expertise bridges policy, planning and delivery, making her a trusted partner for public sector clients seeking to deliver meaningful economic and social outcomes.
Specialist Associates
Laura Bell
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Laura is a highly skilled marketing, communications and consultation professional with over a decade’s experience across sectors including construction, education, charities and local government following six-years as an award-winning journalist.
Previously the communications manager for South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria, Laura has considerable expertise in crisis management, strategic planning and managing media. She is also highly experienced at managing consultations and has been involved in engagement activities on many local authority regeneration projects.
Simon Baker
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Simon Baker is a highly experienced architect and academic, specialising in adaptive re-use. He spent over a decade as March Design Studio Leader at the University of Sheffield before founding Group Ginger Architects in 2014, following leadership roles at Sir Terry Farrell, Chetwoods, and CZWG. His work focuses on reinventing historic and underutilised buildings, ensuring they remain commercially and culturally relevant.
Simon is an expert in transforming heritage buildings for modern use, balancing conservation with economic viability. He works closely with developers, operators, and local authorities, providing strategic guidance on adapting historic assets into thriving destinations. His placemaking and regeneration expertise ensures these spaces serve both modern users and their historical significance.
His projects include the £4.2M Whitby Street Studios regeneration, which transformed a Grade II-listed building into a creative hub, winning the RICS Social Impact Award and RIBA North East Building of the Year. He also played a key role in the £2.2M transformation of Scarborough Market, creating a flexible events space and improving accessibility, earning RIBA and RICS Conservation Awards.
Beyond practice, Simon is a published researcher and thought leader, contributing to studies on urban subversion, placemaking, and heritage conservation. His work has influenced community-led regeneration policies through his role as a Building Environment Expert and Design Review Panellist for Design Council CABE.
Simon’s ability to reposition historic spaces as commercially and socially relevant assets makes him a leader in modern heritage architecture. Through Group Ginger, he continues to breathe new life into historic buildings, ensuring they remain functional, engaging, and future-proofed for generations to come.
Our Clients
