Neil Hinchley, who runs Hackney Wick’s CRATE Brewery, has been urging the council to rename the unaffiliated CRATE St James Street for years, saying it has caused confusion for his customers, reports Marco Marcelline
The co-founder of Hackney Wick brewery CRATE has threatened legal action against Waltham Forest Council over its continued use of the CRATE name at a council-run food and drink venue, despite a previous commitment to rebrand the site.
Neil Hinchley, who established CRATE Brewery in 2012, says he has been urging the council to rename CRATE St James Street for more than two years, arguing that the similarity between the two businesses’ names has led customers to mistakenly believe they are affiliated.
“The last thing we want is a fight with the council. We simply want the CRATE identity we’ve spent years building to be respected and for the St James Street site to be rebranded,” he told the Echo.
The dispute was born when CRATE St James Street opened in 2019. Operators Crate Places Ltd, of no affiliation with CRATE Brewery, had transformed a former empty car park next to St James Street Station into a vibrant food and drink destination using converted shipping containers and named it CRATE.
Hinchley says he found Crate Places Ltd’s decision to give the site an identical name to his brewery “outrageous” at the time, but attempts to challenge the name and branding were allegedly complicated because his company and theirs had registered their brands under different trademark classifications.
The dispute resurfaced in 2024, some months after Crate Places Ltd handed the venue over to the council.
A letter signed by the council and Crate Places Ltd as part of the termination of the previous lease states that the “CRATE St James Street” name, brand and trademark were licensed to the council in perpetuity.
Hinchley maintains that the site’s branding infringes his brewery’s registered trademark. He says the brewery has received emails, calls, reviews and social media messages from people who mistakenly believe the two businesses are associated.
“People have regularly shown up to our locations [Hackney Wick and Canary Wharf] having booked for St James, and we assume the same applies in reverse,” he said.
Hinchley says the brewery stepped back from pursuing legal action after receiving assurances from the council that the site would be renamed.
In an email dated 22 April 2026, seen by the Echo, a council officer confirmed that an external design and marketing consultant had been commissioned to rename the site and update its signage, artwork and digital assets.
The officer said the council would initiate and complete the renaming and rebranding exercise by July 2026.
The site is yet to be rebranded however, and the council did not explain why the July deadline had been missed when approached by the Echo.
A spokesperson for the town hall instead said: “The council stepped in to save CRATE from immediate closure in December 2023, protecting small local businesses and traders at an important time for them during the festive trading season.
“We are working closely with key local stakeholders to rebrand the site, which will ultimately become an incubator hub for not-for-profit enterprises and new local businesses. A collaborative approach with these local organisations will be key for the project’s success.
“We expect that our work with these groups will be concluded and new branding in place by early 2027. We look forward to helping more local businesses thrive and giving residents and visitors more great shopping options.”
Hinchley has criticised the delay, arguing that the requested change could be made quickly and at relatively little cost.
“We’re talking about changing a name, not rebuilding the town centre. Anyone looking at the site and its digital presence can see that a rebrand could be achieved quickly and at relatively little cost.
“At this point, it’s difficult to know whether this is bureaucratic incompetence or simply a complete disregard for the rights of a small independent business. Neither is a particularly good look for a local authority.
“The council says it’s ‘working closely with key local stakeholders’. That’s an interesting claim, given that the business whose registered trademark they’re continuing to use has been repeatedly ignored.
“We are not asking the council to close the site, displace tenants or abandon its plans. We are simply asking them to stop using our brand!”
Crate Places Ltd declined to comment.
Read more: Council confirms CRATE St James Street takeover
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