Ikea pushes back Oxford Street opening due to leaky basement

It is the second time the proposed store, which was previously home to Topshop’s flagship London site, has seen its opening delayed.

Henry Saker-Clark
Friday 10 May 2024 09:26 EDT
The Ikea Oxford Street city store in London, that is currently under renovation (David Parry/PA)
The Ikea Oxford Street city store in London, that is currently under renovation (David Parry/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ikea has pushed back the opening of its new Oxford Street store in order to fix leaks in the building’s basement.

It is the second time the proposed store, which was previously home to Topshop’s flagship London site, has seen its opening delayed.

Ingka Investment, the investment arm of the retail group, bought the Grade II listed building at 214 Oxford Street after Topshop owner Arcadia fell into administration.

Work started on the site in 2022, with original plans to open the location by autumn 2023.

Last year however, it revealed this opening plan had now been pushed to autumn 2024 due to the scale of refurbishment work.

On Friday, the Swedish furniture and homeware giant said the shop will not be opening in Spring 2025 due to the “hugely complex” nature of the renovation.

It said work across all seven floors of the building – which create new Ikea store and four floors of office space – has seen “significant progress” but it had seen faced “unexpected conditions” during the process.

Ikea said it recently discovered the need for unforeseen additional work on the lower of two basement levels to control a water leak. Work on this is currently under way.

Peter van der Poel, managing director of Ingka Investments, said: “Ikea Oxford Street is a one-of-a-kind project, involving the sensitive and sustainable upgrade of a Grade II listed building that is over a hundred years old.

“Following the discovery of an unforeseen water ingress issue, we’re now taking vital steps to mitigate long-term flood risk, and to protect and future-proof this historic building for many years to come.”

Peter Jelkeby, chief executive and chief sustainability officer of Ikea UK, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest and excitement generated around our Oxford Street opening.

“The historic nature of the building makes its careful renovation more complex, but we want to ensure Londoners that we’re just as excited to open the store as they are to visit it.

“We look forward to doing so in spring 2025 and contributing to a positive future for London’s most renowned shopping district.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in