TOBACCO DOCK : FRESH THINKING
Martin Fullard talks to Tobacco Dock ’ s co-founder and commercial director Jonathan Read about how the venue is changing the way it engages with the sector
onathan Read is the commercial director and co-founder of Tobacco Dock , one of London ’ s most versatile and popular venues .
Tobacco Dock opened in 1812 and , as the name suggests , was a warehouse for all manner of smokables from far and wide . Fast forward to the 21st Century and today the building is home to events of all shapes and sizes , its historic architecture juxtaposed by cutting-edge tech infrastructure .
Read and his business partner Patrick Donovan were approached in 2009 about creating a destination brand , not just for Tobacco Dock , but for the whole area as the owners were looking to bring it to life .
The vacant building itself wasn ’ t
LED Screen Curve part of the original deal , but one thing led to another and , in 2012 , Tobacco Dock opened to the event-going public .
“ It took us about three years to get there , but we signed a deal in March 2012 , launched it off the back of London Film Week in October 2012 and we ’ ve been building that business up since then until Covid struck ,” Read tells me .
If you ’ ve not been to Tobacco Dock , you really must make the effort . No two spaces are the same , and each time you go you will discover a new area you previously weren ’ t aware existed . As there is so much to it , I ask Read if ‘ venue ’ is even the right word . “ Yes , we talk about it as an events venue as a shorthand , easy to understand ,” he says . “ I spent over 20 years as a producer for events around the world and our vision was always for it to be the producer ’ s venue . The architecture complements what ’ s happening within , by either giving a contrast between historic and modern or just by being a unique space .”
Read adds that they ’ ve been fortunate to attract a wide range of events , and don ’ t just want to be a conference centre . “ Although we ’ ve had a huge amount of success , particularly in hosting tech and professional services conferences , we love the fact that we have the diversity to be doing Wellbeing and Lifestyle Festivals such as Lulemon ’ s Sweatlife , EDM music events six weekends a year ; we ’ ve had Taste of London in since 2013 , likewise Bikeshed MC ; we ’ ve worked with the team from Meatopia to bring the event from the US and launch it in London . It ’ s lovely to be that wide-ranging , and for the building to mean different things to different people .”
The events industry is entering a new era , and all businesses need to evolve and adapt . I ask Read to talk about his approach to the so-called ‘ new different ’. “ We had to look at every aspect of our business when the pandemic struck ,” he says . “ It became clear very quickly that we were going to lose half a year and www . conference-news . co . uk