Market Halls reported bar like-for-like sales up 16% and trader partner sales up 6% in its first quarter and summer trading update. The London food hall operator credited the men’s football World Cup, Wimbledon and corporate bookings, and confirmed three new traders at Canary Wharf this autumn.
Market Halls published the update on 30 September 2026. The operator runs halls at Oxford Circus, Victoria, Paddington and Canary Wharf, and its Shelter Hall site in Brighton reported like-for-like growth of 10.7%, hosting independent traders rather than the branded units that fill the restaurant franchises recruiting in the UK.
The company also pointed to the expansion of its Games Hall competitive socialising concept as a driver, alongside the sporting events and corporate bookings it names below.
The Propel Morning Briefing flagged the same figures on 30 September, and Restaurant Online ran them under a headline describing “standout” first-quarter and summer trading. The update gives percentage changes only: it does not state turnover, profit or the number of sites in the pipeline.
Bars lead the growth
Bar sales grew faster than trader sales, at 16% like-for-like against 6%. Dan Hills, chief executive of Market Halls, said: “We’ve had a fantastic summer and first quarter in 2026, with strong growth from both our bars and traders.”
He added that people continue to seek out food and drink, live events and shared experiences. The company reports bars and trader partners as separate lines, which makes the gap between them visible.
What drove the summer
The company named four drivers: the men’s football World Cup and Wimbledon, strong food and drink sales, higher corporate bookings and the expansion of its Games Hall competitive socialising concept, a segment where several brands in the leisure category expand through franchised operators instead.
Several of those are event-led and seasonal, and the update does not say how much each contributed. The Shelter Hall food hall in Brighton grew like-for-like sales by 10.7%, which sits between the 16% bar figure and the 6% trader figure, although the update does not say which measure the Brighton number covers.
The Hall Pass loyalty app
Sign-ups to the Hall Pass loyalty app rose 47% year on year, and spend through the app grew by nearly 200%. Members’ average transaction value is 30% higher than that of non-members. The update does not give the number of members or the base for those growth rates, so the percentages cannot be converted into absolute figures.
What the figures do not show
Market Halls published growth rates without turnover, membership numbers or margins. The 16% bar figure and the 6% trader figure are both like-for-like changes, not absolute sales.
Three new traders at Canary Wharf
At Canary Wharf, Amma and Atta, a contemporary Indian trader, is due in October. Coqfighter, the fried chicken brand, follows on 21 October, and Takusan, a Japanese handroll and sushi trader, on 2 November, counter formats of the kind many fast food franchises recruiting in the UK use for food hall and travel hub sites.
Restaurant Online separately reported Coqfighter’s new Canary Wharf site on 30 September. The update does not say how many traders have left or what the hall’s trader turnover has been in the period, so the three arrivals are the only line-up change that can be confirmed. The company has not announced a new hall in this statement.
