ARK coworking update
15th May 2025
Headlines
After nearly a decade of coworking in King’s Cross, ARK coworking will sadly be coming to a close. From 8th August 2025, our main coworking space at All Saints will close to make way for renewed church use and a new chapter for the building. Alongside this, I’ll also be stepping back from day-to-day involvement, making space for new leadership and fresh vision.
It’s been a huge privilege to journey together since 2016 - supporting 500+ businesses, sparking new ventures, and building a community rooted in creativity, care, and purpose. We’ll be gathering to celebrate the end of this chapter on 22nd July 2025, and would love you to join us. Though our day-to-day involvement ends, ARK base will continue championing this vision in new places.
If you’d like to read further details please see below, Nick
Full story
Hi ARK,
Hope you are well.
You’ve probably noticed a few changes in the team over the past few weeks, and I wanted to reach out personally to share a bit more context about some of the transitions currently underway.
Back in June 2022, we opened ARK at All Saints - the original home of All Saints Church. A key part of our vision at the time was to enable All Saints to return to the building for their Sunday activities. A limiting factor to this has been the hall’s current layout, with the coworking space and the small meeting room in particular making it difficult to transition the space effectively for church use on Sundays. In more recent months All Saints church have expressed a renewed desire to use the hall for their gatherings, so we’ve been working closely with them to explore how we can make this possible and adapt the space to better suit their needs.
At the same time, as many of you know, there have been significant changes within our team over the past year, including my own move to Cornwall. King’s Cross Church (KXC), our parent charity, has taken on a more active role in the day-to-day running of ARK, and after a great deal of reflection, discussions and planning, the decision has been made to end the coworking space in the main hall this summer by 8th August.
I appreciate this news might come as a shock. We know this is a significant transition and that it may take time to process. We’d love to make space for any practical conversations that might be helpful, and to answer any questions you understandably may have.
We’ve wanted to give you as much of a heads up as possible with this transition, and want everyone to know you’re welcome to stay until 8th August. If you feel you need to find a new space sooner though, we completely understand. With this in mind, we hope to come together with members past and present for a final summer celebration. We’re planning for 22nd July and hope you can join us as we mark the end of this chapter.
Over the summer the main hall will be opened up to enable All Saints to return for Sunday services from September. During the week the space will become a hireable events space for local businesses and the wider community. The two smaller offices (ones next to the kitchen and toilets) will be reconfigured into meeting rooms, the two larger offices (the ones next to the cafe and above the boardroom) will continue to be used as private office space.
The church has been supportive of the coworking journey and recognises the impact it has had since we first began back in 2016. Our own origin story is rooted in a similar kind of transition, when TENT (a coworking community pre-ARK) closed and the church helped us establish our initial space at 237 Pentonville Road. Because of this history, this decision has not been made lightly. For me personally, this also feels like the right time to step back and make space for fresh leadership. Although Gav, Phil, and I won’t be involved in the day-to-day anymore, we’ll continue cheering you on through ARK base - the organisation we set up in 2019 to explore new ARK communities beyond King’s Cross.
I want to say what a privilege it’s been to lead ARK coworking for nearly a decade. I’ve treasured the pour-over coffees, the lunch chats, the after-work drinks, and all the moments in between. I’ve been consistently blown away by the incredible work happening in this space - from the businesses you’ve built to the way you’ve supported one another and the wider community. I truly believe business can be a force for good - caring for the marginalised, supporting local communities, and loving the environment - and my interactions with you over the years have only deepened that belief.
I’ve learned so much from all of you: the compassion you’ve shown in creating business models that bring care to the overlooked, the creativity you bring to your work, the openness with which you’ve shared your stories, and the way you've cared for the environment and local area. Thank you for sticking with us through COVID, through the transition we made to All Saints, and for your kindness and patience - even as we fixed toilets, painted walls, and patched the internet more times than I can count.
Over the years, we’ve welcomed over 500 businesses through the doors, supported 30+ brave individuals starting up through the spARK programme, given over £50k to local projects and charities, and hosted numerous community initiatives — not to mention the many dogs, cats, and furry friends who’ve kept us company along the way. I’m incredibly grateful to have seen and heard so many incredible stories. Though I won’t be involved in the next part of the All Saints story, the heart and values behind ARK will carry on as the church shapes this next chapter.
I’d love to stay connected through ARK base (as would Gav & Phil), so although this is a goodbye of sorts, I know the friendships we’ve built, some of you since we began in 2016(!), will continue. Alex, James, and Luke will still be around and are happy to chat through any questions you might have. Jess and Rich from the KXC team will be leading the next chapter of the space and would be glad to share more about the plans. The team can be contacted on info@arkcoworking.com. They’ve also included a floor plan (attached) so you can visualise what’s ahead.
More details will be shared in the coming weeks once this news has been communicated more widely, and there will be plenty of time to work through the practicalities together. But for now, I just wanted to give space for this message to land - and to pause and honour this moment. I hope to see you again to say proper goodbyes and I’m sure I’ll chat to you soon.
Much love,
Nick
Future design of All Saints