INCREDIBLE VIEWS AND WARM SPACES

Whether it’s The Cabin Room, The Red Room or The River Room for indoor dining, the Riverside Terrace or the Garden Bar for time beside the Thames or simply the pub’s bar and dining room, The Gun – just 10 minutes’ walk from Canary Wharf –is the ideal venue for your next event

22

How his extraordinary quest to sea kayak in all of the areas covered by the Met O ce’s Shipping Forecast doing the deals get more for less on and around the Wharf

£45

Head to Iberica on North Colonnade on June 16 for a ham carving experience for £45. Includes a welcome drink plus three types of Jamon Iberico with paired wines ibericarestaurants.com

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Why a bite from Co ee And Olive is a box full of value in Rotherhithe

20%

Get 20% o selected facials at Weather And Palette in Jubilee Place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Redeem using code TW20. Contact salon for details weatherandpalette.com subscribe to our newsletter and get Wharf Life content in your inbox free, every two weeks write me words you don’t know you need

TO THE GUN...

Prayge

verb, fake, from Norse

The act of listing page numbers in a publication to help readers nd the articles they are looking for without really bothering to check thoroughly that they are correct rst. Not the sort of thing that goes on at Wharf Life, ahem...

Goetic

adjective, real, from Greek Relating or similar to the use of dark magic to summon angels and demons, stemming from the Greek word for charm. It must be stressed that no such practices are employed to de ne the page numbers in Wharf Life...

CHARITY PARTNERS

More on this in our next issue, but kudos to Canary Wharf Group for partnering with The Felix Project to help mitigate food waste and to feed those in need in the community. CWG is currently looking for volunteers to help support it in its scheme to collect surplus food from cafes, restaurants, o ces and supermarkets and to deliver it to Felix’s Poplar depot where it will be made into meals for the hungry or distributed through the charity’s network Go to canarywharf.com for more information or scan the QR code to the right

Hot List

rumours tips and rankings

NEW STUFF

Whisper it softly, Mallow the plant-based o shoot of Soho stalwart Mildred’s is set to open a second branch at Wood Wharf on June 21 – nd out more at mallowlondon.com. In other news, Townhouse nail salon is expected to open its doors in Jubilee Place on June 23 – nd out more at townhouse.co.uk. More forthcoming arrivals include Acai Berry, Bloobloom, 640East’s Wood Wharf branch as well as branches of Grind and Subway. Yes, you read that right...

OUR PICKS

If you do nothing else in Canary Wharf this fortnight, consider indulging in the below:

1. Book in to see one of the shows at The Greenhouse Theatre, in place at Jubilee Park from June 19-Jul 14. Tickets cost £15 – thegreenhousetheatre.com

2. Visit the ever-changing Lunch Market at Montgomery Square on Thursdays from noon-2.30pm and sample food from a carousel of traders – canarywharf.com

3. Catch tennis action from the French Open on Canary Wharf’s big screens from June 1-11. Ideal for anyone who needs a break from their desk – canarywharf.com

diary dates, listings and ideas

GIG - Cutting Crew

Boisdale Of Canary Wharf, Cabot Square Jun 22, 9.30pm, from £29 (show only) boisdale.co.uk

Frontman of the mid-1980s Anglo-Canadian pop act – famed for international smash (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight – Nick Van Eede is back on the road with a fresh line-up and is set to promote his new material at Boisdale. It’s a fair bet he’ll sing his biggest hit too.

TRY - Open Water Swimming

Love Open Water, Middle Dock, Canary Wharf

Ongoing, £8.50 per swim plus £15 yearly NOWCA membership loveopenwater.co.uk

Just as the weather shows the faintest signs of turning into a scorching summer, Love Open Water has returned to Middle Dock o ering cooling dips in the eight-metre crystal clear waters. Entry to the deep is via a oating pontoon close to Amerigo Vespucci. Wear a bright cap!

by Jon Massey

Just what are those vast metallic arches that have sprung up on the flat patch of ground between Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale? Well, the three-peaked structure is set to shelter Houman Ashrafzadeh’s latest dream.

The serial entrepreneur, together with two friends, already has a presence at 35 Bank Street, having launched new wave salad bar Urban Greens in September 2021. This summer he’s set to do something completely different with the launch of Padium, a little further west on the estate.

“I grew up in Sweden and I’ve lived in London for nearly 16 years but, whenever I’d go back to visit, I’d see this new sport emerging,” he said. “My brother and his friends played it and so I tried it and got completely hooked.”

That sport was padel tennis – popular across Europe and especially so in Houman’s old home town of Helsingborg with an unusually high number of courts for a place with a population a little over 100,000 people.

“When I discovered it, I felt it was something very different – so much fun, but with a social aspect,” he said. “You have four players on a smaller court, a lot of banter going on, and it’s intense, because you’re in a more confined space than on a tennis court.

“It’s relatively easy to pick up – after two or three sessions you get the basics and you can have a decent game even with someone who is better than you.

“I was fascinated, because it was so much fun, and I went back to London, super-excited to play a game with my friends – but there was nowhere to buy Padel rackets, except online.

“Eventually I managed to convince a few friends to play and tried to book a court, but there were hardly any. Back then, there was one in Regent’s Park and one in Hyde Park, but they were outdoors – when it rains, you can’t really play.

“The frustration grew because I wanted to play in London. I played every time I went back a new audience to Sweden, but that was not frequently. I just couldn’t get over how strange it was that it hadn’t caught on in the UK. Squash was big, so why not padel?”

Initially Houman’s idea was to try to replicate the sorts of facilities he’d used in Sweden –unmanned courts in warehouses accessed by a code. However, a dinner with Spotify co-founder Martin Lorentzon – an investor in Houman’s successful Coffydoor venture – took things up a notch.

“One of the topics that came up was padel tennis,” said Houman. “Martin loves it and plays five or six times a week – it’s a passion for him and he’s very good at it.

“ I told him I was looking to start a Padel club in London as then there were none. At that time, Stockholm had hundreds of courts, but I only knew of two outdoor courts in the whole of London and he couldn’t believe it.

“So I showed him the Excel spreadsheet I’d been working on and he said he’d be interested in partnering up and investing.

“Having him on board gave me the ability to do something on a bigger scale than I’d been considering. My experience of Padel in the UK was that it was often very basic. It was embarrassing to bring friends from Sweden to these places, because the facilities were poor. Courts would not be maintained properly, with broken plaster on the walls and would often be too close to one another, so balls would be flying in from other games, or there would be no changing facilities or showers.”

So Houman went back to the drawing board to create something he thought would be capable of “revolutionising” the game in the UK.

“I realised the club needed to be in a flagship location – a place that could attract a lot of people who had never played before,” he said.

“It should be an educator, to get a lot of people involved, including kids and schools so they too can

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“But I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to create an experience and an environment where you could build a community.

“I want young people involved, corporate clients and really good players too – the full 360-degrees like I was used to in Sweden.

“With Martin involved, I didn’t want to replicate any of the experiences I’d had in the UK, I wanted to raise the bar and have something much better to revolutionise the sport here.”

The result is Houman’s plans for Padium. The facility will be home to seven indoor panoramic glass courts under a 10-metre high ceiling including a centre court. There will also be an outdoor court, a pro shop and a nutritional drinks bar.

The store will stock clothing from tennis legend Björn Borg and a selection of rackets from Babolat.

It will also have changing and shower facilities with a towel service and a club lounge on a continued on Page 8

New Growth

Ready For Summer 2023

JON HALA X AESTHETICS

Find new growth at Jon Hala in May through aesthetic treatments including Mesotherapy , facials , microneedling , skin peel , non-surgical fat removal and hair fillers , all delivered in the privacy of the salon’s exclusive VIP room e anine oor where players can hang ou before and af er ga es.

“ igh now play a o her clubs bu have o devo e half a day for one hour of padel because have o ravel for an hour play re urn ho e o shower hen con inue y day said ou an. “ ha s a lo of i e o spend when he whole hing could us ake inu es.

“ wan he e phasis o be on good service a adiu wi h y s aff being really knowledgeable and friendly o crea e an environ en for everyone where i s welco ing and everybody feels included.

“ his goes back o y wedish roo s where padel is open o everyone. We don have fancy clubs over here where you have o be a e ber and i akes you years o ge on he lis . s possible o crea e a pre iu produc and o have ha inclusivi y where all are welco e. ensive work o s reng hen he founda ions under ank ree have been under aken o suppor he concre e slab on which adiu will si . oca ed on he si e of a oo ed -s orey o ce block he club will bring fresh life o a pa ch of ground ha had beco e a popular sun rap before he winds of or unice ore up i s as ro urf. pen daily fro a - p cour s will be bookable in advance for four players wi h slo s of or inu es available wi h no e bership re uired o play.

“ ne of he seven indoor cour s is a cen re cour which will cos a bi ore bu we ll be incorpora ing cour ca era echnology on ha one which reads he ga e and gives you s a is ics said ou an.

“ ne is a recording ca era which records he ga e and he o her is -based o give you s a is ics abou your ga e which is really cool.

“ his will help people who wan o i prove heir ga e and so coaches can assess heir perfor ance. f i s popular hen we ll look a rolling i ou o o her cour s oo.

Indoor padel courts, including a centre court with video technology, and one outdoor court at Padium in Canary Wharf 7

Thursday 6 July

South Dock, Canary Wharf

Recruit your team and take to the water this summer for your chance to become champions – and unlock people’s potential with life-changing clean water.

Entry fee: £350 per team

Fundraising target: £1,500

Corporate entry includes a minimum of 11 and up to 17 people in a team.

For more information visit wateraid.org/dragon-boat-race

“For me, padel is the perfect combination of squash and tennis. It takes the best of both and combines them into one game.

“It’s easy to learn, but hard to master. Because the courts are smaller, the actual amount of time you spend playing is greater than tennis – rallies can often go on for minutes rather than being over quickly. Also, tennis can be a lonely sport. With padel you play with four people, so it’s super social. You have a ranking, sign up and play with players of a similar level you don’t know, so it’s a great way to meet people.

“One of our responsibilities will be to help nurture the grass roots of this amazing sport. We want schools and people from the local community to come and discover the game because they will be the players of the future.

“We need players to convince councils and other organisations that it’s worth approving these facilities – that the investment will be worth it – so we can grow the sport.

“Ultimately the aim is for it to become an Olympic Sport.

There’s a federation and there are professional players making a living from the game now, which is great. The Lawn Tennis Association is also involved now and we’re looking forward to working with them too.”

As for Houman, Urban Greens remains a strong focus and, come the opening of Padium there will certainly be some crossover between the two brands.

“Padel and salad go well together and Urban Greens will certainly be catering for events we put on,” he said.

“We’ll also be offering companies corporate sponsorships for the courts where businesses can have their name and logo on the booking app and on the courts themselves, with playing time for their staff and whole-club takeover events.”

Go to padium.com for details

Scan this code to nd out more about Padium at Canary Wharf

Another Level

by Amy French

London Tech Week, which runs from June 12-16, is fast approaching. Now in its tenth year, the five-day conference expects to bring together 20,000 people to discuss the role of global technology in driving sustainable innovation.

It convenes founders, top business leaders, policymakers, investors and rising stars to highlight technologies and trends that will unlock new opportunities and transform the future.

This year, there’s also the inaugural Fintech Fringe – an official fringe event of London Tech Week, launched to help fintech scale-ups accelerate UK growth. Level39 is delighted to have joined forces with the Fintech Fringe – partnering to deliver day one of the conference in Canary Wharf.

With a strong fintech demographic amongst our community, I look forward to hosting speakers from the likes of the Centre For Finance, Innovation and Technology, OpenPayd and the Department For Business And Trade, along with networking and collaboration opportunities for likeminded entrepreneurs and businesses.

London Tech Week convenes founders, top business leaders, investors and rising stars to highlight technologies and trends

Amy French, Level39

On day one, we will be welcoming a line-up of industry leaders for keynote speeches and panel discussions focusing on three core themes – firstly the UK’s biggest growth opportunities, secondly the tech ecosystem and communities available to support growing teams and thirdly, lessons learned from those who have successfully scaled.

Who should attend? I expect that this four-day programme will benefit any fintech considering UK expansion and their go-to market strategy, as well as those already established in the UK with the aim of engaging with top tier content and fellow entrepreneurs. I hope to see you there.

For more information, go to level39.co/event/ fintech-fringe

Amy French is director at Level39 in Canary Wharf – follow @Level39CW on Insta and Twitter and @Level39CanaryWharf on LinkedIn

Go to level39.co for more information about the One Canada Square-based tech community Scan this code to find out more about Fintech Fringe at Level39 or to attend. Day passes cost £50 or festival passes cost £200