Inception Group, which is behind Bunga Bunga, Maggie’s and Cahoots, is being backed by a loan from property landlord Grosvenor Britain & Ireland’s Tenant Investment Fund to take over the former restaurant and bar Balls Brothers site at 34 Brook Street in late spring this year.
Inception Group founder and director Charlie Gilkes said: “The iconic former Balls Brothers site in Mayfair is a fantastic space from which to create a truly exceptional iteration of a Mr Fogg’s cocktail bar.”
Incredibly progressive
Gilkes continued: “Mayfair is changing all the time. Alongside world renowned brands like Claridge’s and Le Petit Maison, we’ll be opening close to retail and hotel developments like the Rosewood and Biltmore in Grosvenor Square, and the South Molton Triangle development.”
Gilkes also paid tribute to Grosvenor for being “incredibly progressive in finding ways to support hospitality and retail tenants”. He added: “With limited funding for new openings in the wake of the pandemic, they are enabling growth and new jobs that simply would not have happened were it not for the Tenant Investment Fund.”
Inception Group is the fourth hospitality business supported by the Tenant Investment Fund with JKS Restaurants’ latest venture Bibi in North Audley Street, Mayfair, among those receiving financing at a time when traditional bank funding is constrained.
Highly anticipated opening
Grosvenor Property UK chief executive James Raynor said: “The West End is renowned for its world-class sense of occasion and fun. Inception Group’s immersive destinations are the capital’s most highly anticipated openings, and their expansion in Mayfair is a huge vote of confidence in the future of central London’s night-time economy.”
Inception Group, which was founded by Gilkes and Duncan Stirling in 2009, revealed in August last year it had signed a 20-year lease to open The London Gin Club on Great Chapel Street, Soho.
Mr Fogg’s launched in 2013 and operates sites including Mr Fogg’s Residence in Bruton Lane, Mayfair, which also has a Secret Garden site incorporated; Mr Fogg’s Gin Parlour in New Row, Covent Garden; and Mr Fogg’s Dockside Drinkery & Distillery in Broadgate Circle, Liverpool Street. Its venues are cocktail bars based around the life of Victorian traveller Phileas Fogg.
