Five years in, and it already feels like a lifetime of moments

In October 2008, Green & Fortune launched at Kings Place, alongside the opening of a building unlike anything London had seen before. Kings Place was the vision of Peter Millican OBE, also a co-founder of Green & Fortune. It was an office building founded on an arts centre, bringing together cultural organisations, galleries and performance spaces, with business events helping to support an ambitious artistic programme. All open to the public. While others questioned the location or the timing, we did not. We believed in the place and the potential from the very beginning.

A modern building with exposed steel framework under construction, featuring cylindrical and rectangular sections, stands beside a canal with clear reflections in the water. Two construction cranes tower above the site.

It was the first cultural building to rise on what was then the undeveloped hinterland of King’s Cross. Today it sits at the heart of one of London’s most vibrant new quarters. Back then, it stood confidently on its own.

Kings Place announced itself with intent, opening with 100 concerts in five days. From day one, we operated the Green & Fortune café, the Rotunda Bar, Restaurant and Private Dining and Kings Place Events. This was our business and our vision, embedded into the life of the building from the outset.

Aerial view of a canal lined with colourful narrowboats beside industrial and residential buildings, with cars parked in car parks and a busy road in the foreground.

Aerial view of a modern waterfront building under construction, surrounded by canals with moored narrowboats, nearby roads, railway tracks, and residential and commercial buildings.

Modern outdoor café overlooking a canal with white tables and chairs, some decorated with clear bowls containing red flowers. Across the water, a white sports car is parked and colourful canal boats are moored near modern buildings.

Our first events clients, including Risky Business and High Flyers, shared that belief. Five years on, they are still hosting annual events with us, relationships built on trust, consistency and shared ambition.

In the early days, few people wanted to host events in King’s Cross. We did. And as the area evolved, so did demand. What began as conviction quickly became momentum. Today the business has grown to a turnover of £4 million per annum, delivering double digit growth year on year.

Along the way, Kings Place has played host to some unforgettable moments. Few more memorable than an Audi R8 floating along the Regent’s Canal, a spectacle that captured our sense of making memories.

People in formal attire gather at an outdoor event beside two narrowboats moored on a canal. Tables with food and drinks are set up along the waterfront near a building marked “Rotunda”.

Rotunda has flourished too, rooted in seasonality and provenance. Beef and lamb from our own Corneyside Farm in Matfen sit at the heart of the menu, under the direction of Liz Reece. In 2013, that confidence stepped outdoors with the first Rotunda summer pop up for the Great British Summer, giving our amazing terrace the vibrancy it deserved and a beach hut bar to boot.

This year also marked our first off site pop up bar, supporting Strawberries and Screen at Granary Square during Wimbledon. A natural extension of our belief in place, people and well made experiences.

Outdoor restaurant seating by a canal, with wooden tables set with glasses and serviettes, metal chairs, a bench with colourful cushions, plants, and boats moored in the background.

Three chefs in white uniforms and striped aprons grill bread on an outdoor barbecue, with smoke rising and catering trays in the background.

2013 also saw the launch of the very first Greenies Awards. A moment to pause and celebrate the people behind the scenes, recognising awards such as Ray of Sunshine and Unsung Hero. We finished the year by taking our management team to Paris, a simple thank you for the energy and commitment that brought us here.

Five years has flown by. We have watched King’s Cross come to life around us and we have grown alongside it. Through it all, we have made a home at Kings Place, shaping experiences, building lasting relationships and proving what happens when you believe in a place from the very start.

Five years in, and this is only the beginning.