Hospitality and entertainment company Freight Island has announced plans for further UK and Ireland growth, expansion in Leeds and a new event space at its Newcastle site after receiving £3M in funding from the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland, managed by Whiterock.
The Newcastle venue opened in June and the team have ambitious expansion plans. A new purpose-built ‘music box’ space hosting live music and events is due to open at Freight Island Newcastle in the first quarter of 2027, as well as a new two-floor 63,000sq ft Freight Island destination at Trinity Leeds later next year and more venues across the UK and Ireland to follow.
Northern Irish entrepreneurs Richard Irwin and Stephen Symington have joined forces with Jon Drape and Gareth Cooper, co-founders of big-name entertainment venues such as Broadwick Live, Warehouse Project and Parklife, to expand the Freight Island concept across the UK and Ireland. Freight Island now boasts three of the UK’s leading social dining and music spaces, offering a unique ‘incubator model’ for up-and-coming food and drink entrepreneurs to grow their products from idea stage to becoming well-known brands. The company currently operates vibrant dance, dine and drinks venues in Manchester, Leeds and Brixton in London, as well as its newest venue in Newcastle.
Headquartered in Belfast, the group showcases local Northern Ireland musical talent and produce at each of its venues, including award winning Titanic Distillers whiskey. The £3M investment from Whiterock has supported Freight Island’s latest venue development in Newcastle. The venue is built on the former site of Debenhams at Eldon Square and boasts a 12-kitchen food market area and a new live-fire restaurant WYLD, which opened its doors on Friday 25 September.
