London & South East

Paramount’s newest venture

Zinc, Centrepoint, London

Paramount, a spectacular restaurant, bar and events space, has unveiled its latest venture; Zinc.

The new late night lounge is open until the early hours and offers members the chance to enjoy premium drinks whilst dancing the night away in a luxurious venue.

The Paramount brand spans three floors of London’s iconic Centrepoint building, which is located on New Oxford Street, almost directly above Tottenham Court Road tube station. The brand’s impressive restaurant & bar can be found on Level 32; where guests can sample the modern, European-influenced menu crafted by Head Chef Krzysztof Zachwieja.

The 33rd floor houses the company’s impressive cocktail bar and viewing gallery and the 31st floor is the events space. This floor is also home to Zinc; Paramount’s new late night lounge venue which opens Friday and Saturday every week. The same space acts as the events base which runs Monday to Thursday.

Keen to find out more we caught up with Paramount Managing Director Pierre Condou to explore the brand’s newest addition. Pierre said:

“The events space on the 31st floor hosts the £2 million events business I have and so holds lots of private and corporate events. We realised that more often than not we did not seem to be getting bookings on Friday and Saturday night, as most corporate events happened Monday to Thursday. It seemed like the space was wasted.

Zinc, Centrepoint, London

“However in the mean time we still had a host of people coming to Paramount to visit the cocktail bar so I thought we should create a new entity on the 31st floor for the Friday and Saturday night. I have a 24 hour licence and so it seemed appropriate that we should create something a bit different from the rest of Paramount. The new venue is a late night lounge and dancing space where members can party until 4am.”

The creation of Zinc involved the refurbishment of the 31st floor so the space could double up as an events space and a late night lounge. Pierre said the events space did not have the level of sophistication or furniture required so the refurbishment project focused on getting the space up to standard.

Planning for Zinc began in January 2013 before Pierre approached the Chelsea College of Design and asked their students to assist him with the project. A group of three students, who have now formed the architectural and design firm Studio Wick, were instrumental in the design of Zinc.

The actual refurbishment project began in August 2013 and was completed in an impressive five weeks. The events space was completely shut down during the refurbishment allowing for a swift completion of the lounge. The furniture was entirely transported up the building in the lift and was assembled on site.

Zinc, Centrepoint, London

When guests enter the new late night lounge they will be greeted by an impressive, white hostess desk which reflects the pattern of the building. On either side of the lounge bespoke furniture adds a sophisticated feel to the space. There is a 30 metre, bespoke, snake-like sofa as well as luxury banquettes which are multi-functional as they can be dissembled into smaller seats for use in events facilities. The bespoke furniture was provided by Upholster London.

Zinc boasts a large DJ desk, sound system, dance floor, as well as new lighting and is now completely set up to host corporate and private events in the week, and transform into a party venue at the weekend. The soft launch of Zinc occurred in September 2013 and has gained in popularity since then. Members gain free access to the late night lounge and can bring along four guests.

Pierre Condou said Zinc offers something that is not available elsewhere in the capital:

“We have established ourselves as a destination for our members and people who like late night drinking and dancing. Most late night venues comprise of dark, dank basements and sophisticated lighting; we offer the same services but with premium drinks, great service and a view overlooking the whole of London.

“It has been very satisfying to create something that has been well received by customers – that is the most important thing I have got out of the process. We have also added another revenue line to the business, making a profitable company even more profitable.”

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Roma Publications