‘Too good to resist’ - Inside Fallow's 18-day deal to acquire Oxo Tower Restaurant
James Robson was on holiday when the call came that would see Fallow add to its fast-growing group. Eighteen days later, he owned Oxo Tower Restaurant.
James co-founded Fallow with chefs Jack Croft and Will Murray in 2020, and the trio have since built the group into Fallow, Fowl and Roe.
In August 2026, they acquired Oxo Tower Restaurant on London's South Bank from Harvey Nichols, with plans to work alongside the current team before introducing changes from 2027.
James spoke to The Staff Canteen about how the deal came together so fast, what happens next, and where Oxo Tower fits into a group that keeps growing without slowing down.
An 18-day deal
Oxo Tower was not on the group's radar before this year. James said the team had been focused on opportunities overseas rather than at home.
"We were more focused on international expansion than the UK,” he said.
“However, I received a call while on holiday, and the potential opportunity was simply too good to resist.
"Sometimes a fast deal is a good deal. We were invited into an accelerated sales process and owned the restaurant 18 days later."
The site itself made the decision straightforward. The eighth-floor Art Deco landmark, with its two terraces and panoramic Thames views, has been under Harvey Nichols' ownership since the restaurant first opened in 1996.
James said: "Oxo is a globally recognised, iconic site with superb views of the London skyline that has been underinvested in for over a decade.
“A perfect turnaround project and story, so we had to go for it."
No reservations
Oxo Tower Restaurant has not always had an easy ride critically, having topped restaurant guide Harden's "most disappointing cooking" on more than one occasion in its three-decade history.
It is exactly the kind of reputation that might give a new owner pause, but not James.
“I had no reservations,” he insisted.
“We only look forward."
Freeing the team from paperwork
The changes coming from 2027 will not mean a clean sweep of the people already there.
Oxo Tower's current team, more than 100 strong, is staying in place.
James said: "We have kept all 100-plus team members and will be working with them, and supporting with additional hires as the business grows."
What James does want to change is trying to stabilise things behind the scenes.
James said: "There is too much reporting and process for process's sake, which is a legacy issue.
“We are currently in the process of cutting through this and freeing the team from this paperwork burden, so they can get back to focusing on the customer more than paperwork."
what are fallow's plans for oxo tower?
Fallow, Fowl and Roe are three distinct concepts, but all built around modern cooking of British produce. Fallow’s focus excelled on nose-to-tail cooking, Fowl specialises on a chicken-focused menu, while 500-cover restaurant Roe in Canary Wharf offers a variety of dishes such as small plates, flatbreads, skewers, burgers at a large scale than its predecessors.
Oxo Tower will not simply become a fourth version of one of them.
James explained: "We will be leaning into the history of the Oxo restaurant brand, and in the first instance working on the brasserie side.
“We will then look at the restaurant side next year, so in effect will likely have five distinct brands within our group."
Expansion on their own terms
For all the speed of the Oxo Tower deal, James was clear that it does not signal a wider UK expansion drive.
"Oxo was a pleasant surprise addition, as currently I am focused on overseas opportunities for Fallow,” James said.
“Once we have this in place, we can then look to see if Oxo will follow this route.
"Four UK restaurants with around 400 team members is more than enough for us, so we will only expand if the correct sites and landlord deals come our way.
“I'm concerned about the general UK tax-upon-tax, anti-business growth measures we are repeatedly being hit with, hence the international thoughts."
It is a position consistent with what co-founder Will told The Staff Canteen not long after Roe opened in Canary Wharf.
The chef said: "I've got no plans right now to open another restaurant. Roe is fantastic and deserves all the attention it gets."
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plans to double the customer base
Roe, a three-storey restaurant with 500 covers and Europe's largest indoor aeroponic growing system, marked a significant step up in scale from Fallow and Fowl when it opened in 2024.
James sees Oxo Tower as a comparable jump, with one advantage Roe did not have.
"Oxo is a similar size to Roe and has the advantage of close to 30 years of legacy business,” he said.
“Across the group we now have over 10,000 customers a week, and with time, the potential to double this organically.
"Keeping restaurants relevant, growing covers sustainably and managing demand whilst retaining service levels is a fine art that our teams work on each and every day."
The story behind the growth
Roe has had a strong first couple of years, and the wider group has built a substantial following online, with Fallow and Roe's combined social channels reaching around eight million followers.
Asked how much of that success comes down to the food itself versus how the group tells its story, James said: “Like with all business, the key is the people and culture behind them.
“The beginning is the fun bit, where all pull together. However, the larger you grow, the more time has to be invested in systems and telling the story, to genuinely retain what makes places special on launch."
Digital is only one part of that, but it has scaled dramatically.
Back in 2024, James described a lean setup, saying: "We have a marketing manager, a full-time producer, editor and videographer."
Two years on, that team looks very different.
"We have dedicated teams in all business areas including digital, which currently has around 20 team members and an annual budget around the £2million mark,” James explained.
“The team has consistently scaled as our business has scaled, and now our digital fortunately reaches over 100 million accounts a month."
Sustainability at scale
Jack has spoken before about how the size of Roe's site opened the door to buying whole animals and reworking the group's supply chain. James sees the same principle applying to Oxo Tower.
"Sustainability is embedded into our culture, and the more scale we have, the more we can effect change,” he said.
“Oxo will certainly open up new possibilities, however, like all areas, we are currently reviewing what that effect may be.
"There are clearly the easy quick wins that are rooted into our growth to date, and now we are looking into the larger group-wide opportunities."
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