Residents Hope for Less Rowdy Replacement for The Redback
What is planned for Fulham Road venue remains unclear
Albert & Swedish Wharf Visualisaiton. Picture: Epr Architects
September 28, 2026
Famed for its raucous club nights packed with Aussie, Kiwi and South African patrons, Fulham’s The Redback is no stranger to reinventions.
Reportedly dating back to the mid-19th century, it has undergone several name-changes in the last two decades alone, shifting from Fiesta Havana to Slug@Fulham in 2013 before settling on The Redback in 2019.
The Fulham Road venue, which was also a favourite among Imperial College’s sports teams, has however spent the last two-plus years closed, after operator RedCat Leased Pubs Limited (RCLP) entered administration.
former member of staff told Imperial’s student magazine, Felix, at the time that while weekends remained busy in the lead-up to the closure, the midweek custom had declined.
“Before Covid, Fridays and Saturdays were crazy busy,” they said. “We had Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans coming in, it was packed. Now it’s dead quiet.”
Shortly after it shut its doors, squatters took to the venue where they reportedly held unlicensed music events.
A police intervention led to them being removed, with the former Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham, Greg Hands, saying in a video that the pub would be shut for three months.
Since then however The Redback has been conspicuously quiet. Its lease was listed by real estate firm Colliers, complete with a late-night licence, the page for which remains live. In the last month or so interest has again been stirred by a planning application submitted by a K El Jalek.
The proposal requests permission to erect an additional floor at roof levels, rear extensions at the first and second floors, and to enlarge the existing basement.
According to the application the intention is to refurbish the pub, with the proposed extensions and larger basement to “provide function rooms and, in the case of the basement, ancillary facilities”.
There are other documents linking Mr Jalek with the pub. A licensing application was approved by council officers earlier this year, which had requested he be made the designated premises supervisor for The Redback.
A Khaled El Jalek is also listed on Companies House as the sole director of 490-492 Fulham Road Ltd, the address of The Redback, incorporated last December.
In an effort to get a better understanding of Mr Jalek’s plans for The Redback, the LDRS has attempted to contact him both through Colliers and one of his registered offices. An employee at Colliers confirmed the new lease was agreed with a client for a restaurant/bar use but would not reveal who the new operator is.
They said they would pass on our details, though we have yet to hear from Mr Jalek directly.
While Mr Jalek, or at least his company, appears to be The Redback’s new operator, the site’s freeholder is a company called Ilona House Investments Limited. According to Land Registry documents Ilona purchased the premises in December 2014 for £3.3 million.
Its directors, as listed on Companies House, are Mark Quinn and Howard Raymond. Mr Raymond is the son of the late porn magnate and ‘King of Soho’ Paul Raymond, who owned properties in the famous London district through his company Soho Estates.
Mr Quinn is his nephew, and with Howard runs Raymond Estates, a spin-off of the Soho original.
There had been suspicions locally that the former Redback may have been lined up to become a casino, though when the LDRS put this to Colliers they denied it to be the case.
Some locals have said they hope the gap in operations can be used to turn the premises into something new.
Charlotte Dexter, a member of the local campaign group FulhamTogether, said she would like the planning application to lead to an “imaginative new concept” for the building.
She told the LDRS: “Rather than returning it to its previous incarnation as a large, late-night drinking venue, I would love to see it become a distinctive, contemporary pub-with-rooms: an inviting cocktail bar and social space open to the public at street level, with a small clutch of boldly designed boutique guest rooms above.
“Our best evidence-based estimate is that well over 1,500 visitors sleep in Fulham’s hotels and serviced accommodation on an average night, before and that is before residential short-term lets are counted. There is a real opportunity to serve discerning, well-heeled visitors choosing historic, distinctive and exceptionally well-connected Fulham as their base for exploring London.
“Such a new hospitality anchor for Fulham Broadway would preserve the building’s essential role as a public house while complementing both the planned restoration of Fulham Town Hall and the Wetherspoon now housed within the Grade II-listed former Fulham Broadway Underground Station entrance and ticket hall.
“Most importantly for neighbouring residents, it could bring this prominent building back to life without recreating the late-night disruption that later required major police intervention and a magistrates’ closure order at the premises.”
Another local, who did not wish to give their name, said: “Residents would like to see this premises, which is a much-loved local landmark, brought back to life as a more upmarket pub where we could spend many an hour. We don’t understand the need to double its size, which doesn’t make financial sense.”
They added that if there were plans for a gambling site they “would not be well received by locals”, with a pub needed on this particular stretch of Fulham Road.
A consultation on the planning application ran until September 16. As council officers assess the submission and the feedback from locals, The Redback may be about to undergo its latest reinvention, with its future becoming clear very soon.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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