The company behind Boozepark at East Croydon has appointed Michelle Farrell as its first “chief growth officer”.
Going for growth: Michell Farrell, in charge of verucas and warts at Boozepark
“It makes her sound like she’s in charge of verrucas and warts,” according to one punter stepping into the Croydon venue this morning.
The job will see Farrell oversee the sales, events, marketing and commercial functions of the business, “aligning with Boxpark’s commitment to accelerating growth and expanding its UK estate”, according to the company.
Since opening the second Boozepark at East Croydon in 2016, with the help of a £3million loan plus hefty grants from Croydon Council, the large shed has been eating the lunch of other Croydon hospitality businesses, and even the Fairfield Halls, as it has staged many of the kind of music, comedy acts and events which could have feasibly been booked to play at the council-owned arts venue on the other side of George Street.
To this day, Croydon Council continues to fuel the company’s bottom line by staging some of its public events at Boozepark.
The Boxpark business continues to expand, with its original venue at Shoreditch now joined by Boxpark Wembley and, most recently, Boxhall City, near Liverpool Street.
Farrell joins the company from Nightcap Group, operators of 45 “premium” bars, where she was group sales and marketing director.
Political expediency: Fulham supporter Tony Newman (right), the discredited ex-leader of the council, teamed up with Boozepark founder Roger Wade
“With a proven track record for cultivating digital-first teams and growing pre-booked revenue, she will help to further drive growth,” Boxpark said in announcing Farrell’s appointment.
Roger Wade, “Mr Boxpark” who pulled off the multi-million-pound subsidy deal with Croydon Council’s leadership of Jo Negrini and Tony Newman almost 10 years ago, remains a director of the parent company and Boxpark Croydon Ltd. In April 2022, Wade stepped down as CEO of the company he founded after flogging off his majority shareholding to a private equity firm, LDC.
The Boxpark business is now on to its third CEO in three years.
Matt Snell was appointed as the parent company’s chief executive in March, with Chris Burford named as chief finance officer in January.
Read more: Boxpark founder Wade to step down as business boss
Read more: Boxpark’s £3m+ in council loans and grants under Newman
Read more: Here’s just one of the questions Jo Negrini refuses to answer
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Boxpark tenants are paying £5k a year on business rates for a single unit or £10k for a double. It is unbelievably low and unfair considering how good their location is. The council clearly love Boxpark but have unfortunately sacrificed the surrounding areas as a result.
Can’t stand that place they have no respect towards locals regarding to music
And the council doesn’t even care due to amount of money they put on it
And yet our cash-strapped council continues to subsidise the business rates of the traders operating at Boozepark.
While putting your Council Tax up by 27%.
Whose interests does this council serve?
Don’t worry, their 10 year lease is almost up in q4 next year. There will be an opportunity for the developer to built yet more lucrative flats very soon…..which means no more crude noise. Maybe they should bulldoze Fairfield Halls and build Boxpark Croydon v2 there!
The Ruskin Square development is largely office blocks, with just one development of flats (so far, at least). The Stanhope Schroders scheme is widely regarded as the one successful development in Croydon this century, even if the developers have been remarkably cautious in their approach.
The site where Boxpark stands was earmarked as a landmark “gateway” to Croydon, and any future planning permission is likely to reflect that. The popular (if not commercial) success of Boxpark may influence future commercial development decisions.
The £3million ‘investment’ by the Council in Boxpark was the development money accolated by the developers for the planned new Warehouse Theatre – but the council wanted booze not art!
Not sure that’s entirely correct.
Boozepark got a £3million loan from the council (all paid off, they say), but subsequently Newman’s council diverted its entire arts promotion budget, intended for staging free public festivals, into Boozepark.
The council continues to have some kind of relationship with Boozepark, using it as the venue for events (presumably at a hire rate – someone should FoI it), ahead of, say, the Fairfield Halls, which the council owns.
The accounts for y/e Apr 2024 don’t make happy reading. Loss for year £700,000 with cumulative debt of £2.4 million. Perhaps that is why they need a Growth Officer – to boost income?
No. Definitely verucas.
Mr Boxpark is sitting pretty, though, having sold the business to the private equity vultures.