New Home Beckons for Fashion Retail Academy

The Fashion Retail Academy (the FRA), the UK’s leading training provider for the fashion and retail industries, is to relocate to a new purpose-designed campus at the landmark Grade II listed Electra House on Moorgate, in September 2024.

The FRA has been based at Gresse Street, in the heart of London’s prime retail district, since its founding in 2005, but with student numbers increasing from 50 in its first year to over 2,000 today, a larger site is required to meet the growing demand from industry for job-ready talent.

The move will enable the launch of courses in new formats and subject areas to address the industry’s most critical skills gaps. Four new degree pathways in UX/UI, Data Analytics, Sustainable Fashion and Fashion Communications & Styling will begin in September 2024, with further programmes in development in consultation with industry partners help to realise the FRA’s ambition of enrolling 5,000 students by 2029.

Set over eight floors, the FRA’s new campus is double the size of the existing site and is currently undergoing a £50m renovation to create fresh, flexible and inclusive facilities reflecting modern industry working environments. Electra House will be home to 35 multi-purpose classrooms, six lecture theatres and dedicated studios for fashion design and photography, as well as independent study and social areas. The new spaces will offer greater opportunities for the FRA’s brand partners to engage with its student cohort: ideas under consideration include on-site brand takeovers, venue hire, pop-up shops and more.

Lee Lucas, Principle and CEO of the FRA said:

“For the last 16 years, the Fashion Retail Academy has been based in the heart of the UK’s fashion capital in Gresse Street, just behind Oxford Street. This was made possible with the support of our founding retail partners – Arcadia, Marks & Spencer, Next and Experian – who donated funds to buy the building and provided charitable support through favourable terms throughout."

“This generosity enabled us to grow from 50 students at launch to nearly 2,000 today, and as a result we have outgrown our existing site. Now, thanks to the ongoing support of our founders, we are able to relocate to a larger building with state-of-the-art facilities, through which we will continue to support our retail community by offering a wider choice of courses and helping even more students to enter the fashion and retail industry with the skills they need to succeed.”

A spokesperson for Next, representing the founding partners, said:

“We have had a long-standing charitable relationship with the Fashion Retail Academy and are delighted that the proceeds of this transaction will facilitate their expansion and move to their new premises.”