Closing its doors to guests yesterday (1 May), the old print factory – which stamped titles including the Daily Mail and Evening Standard up to 2012 – will now be bulldozed and turned into office buildings.
The redevelopment has been widely opposed by the music community, which sees the closure as emblematic of the wider struggle in the UK between nightlife venues and property developers – which developers are largely winning.
Printworks’ final hurrah saw the club put on more than 65 DJs and musicians over the bank holiday weekend, providing a bass-heavy soundtrack to its own farewell.
While the club will be necessarily separated from its namesake, promoters have assured the public that the future club – dubbed ‘Printworks 2.0’ will return in 2026 at a different location.
Built in 1989 by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) as a state-of-the-art print factory, the Harmsworth Quays site covers around 49,000sqm. DMGT sold the building to British Land after moving its operations to Thurrock in Essex, in 2012.
