The London Tunnels

What The London Tunnels does

The London Tunnels is a UK-incorporated (England and Wales) public company developing a major underground tourist attraction inside the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels, a 1-mile, 90,000 sq ft subterranean complex located 30 metres beneath Chancery Lane tube station in central London. Founded in 2021, the company acquired the tunnels from British Telecom in 2023 and secured planning approval from the City of London Corporation in June 2024. The attraction will combine preserved WWII and Cold War heritage (with ties to Churchill, the Special Operations Executive, the James Bond Q-Branch inspiration, and the White House-Kremlin hotline) with multi-sensory digital installations and ancillary hospitality including what is positioned as the deepest licensed bar in the UK. The British Military Intelligence Museum is being relocated inside the complex as an anchor tenant.

The business model centres on consumer ticket sales targeting 2-3 million annual visitors at full commercial launch (planned for 2027), supplemented by museum admissions, bar/hospitality revenue and event bookings. The company was admitted to Euronext Amsterdam in June 2024 at a £130 million market capitalisation (ticker TLT), raised up to £30 million via new ordinary shares at £2.00 each, and subsequently delisted in 2025 via a scheme of arrangement that established a new Cayman Islands holding company, The London Tunnels Incorporated (TLT Holdings); shares now trade on the JP Jenkins venue. Pre-opening revenue is limited to Phase 1 Public Explorer Tours.

The development programme requires an estimated £220-269 million of total capex, of which £20-30 million is earmarked for the next 1-2 years of construction with a further £120 million required to bring the tunnels into operational use. The project is supported by a tier-1 delivery team including WilkinsonEyre (architecture), WSP Global (engineering), Montagu Evans (planning) and Gardiner & Theobald (construction consultancy). The board is led by CEO and founder Angus Murray (founder of Castlestone Management LLC), Chairman Peter Curtin (former Merrill Lynch Investment Managers), COO Katy Leo and independent non-executive Charles Nelson. Revenue, pricing and visitor volumes are not yet publicly disclosed.

Name

The London Tunnels

Legal name

The London Tunnels Limited

Website

https://thelondontunnels.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The London Tunnels is developing a 1-mile underground tourist attraction inside the WWII-era Kingsway Exchange Tunnels beneath central London, targeting 2-3 million annual visitors at a 2027 commercial launch with ticketed heritage tours, museum exhibits and hospitality.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Tourism

NAICS

Historical Sites (712120), Historical Sites (71212), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (71211)

akta.pro primary industry

Historic Sites, Heritage Landmarks & Archaeological Sites (THAJACAC)

Keywords

• Underground tourist attraction
• Heritage tourism experience
• Cultural attraction venue
• Immersive museum experience
• Digital heritage exhibits

Headquarters

HQ city

Chichester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales: Revenue will be generated primarily through ticket sales to visitors attending the underground tourist attraction, targeting up to 2-3 million visitors per year upon full commercial launch.
2. Underground bar and hospitality: Revenue from operating an underground bar within the tunnels, marketed as what developers hope will be the deepest licensed bar in the United Kingdom, serving cocktails such as 'Vesper Martinis'.
3. Museum and exhibitions: Revenue from the relocated British Military Intelligence Museum housed within the tunnel complex, showcasing military intelligence history from D-Day through the Cold War and 21st century operations.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The London Tunnels is developing an underground cultural and heritage tourist attraction within the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels beneath central London. The venue combines physical heritage infrastructure with multi-sensory digital installations, an underground bar, and a British Military Intelligence Museum to create a destination experience for visitors. Pre-opening tours are already being offered to generate early demand ahead of full launch.

Product overview

The London Tunnels is a single unified product: a major underground tourist attraction under development in the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels beneath central London. The core offering centers on a heritage and cultural experience combining historical exhibitions (including the relocated British Military Intelligence Museum and WWII Civilian Memorial), multi-sensory digital installations, and an underground bar. Phase 1 offers Public Explorer Tours while full commercial launch is targeted for 2027.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The London Tunnels Underground Attraction A heritage tourist attraction built within the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels beneath central London, featuring multi-sensory digital installations for leisure visitors, tourists, and educational groups.
• British Military Intelligence Museum A museum focused on British military intelligence history, housed within The London Tunnels venue, aimed at history enthusiasts, school groups, and general visitors.
• Underground Bar An underground bar located at The London Tunnels site, providing hospitality and event services to visitors.
• Pre-Opening Tours Limited guided tours of the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels offered before full launch to generate early demand and visitor awareness.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 3 million visitors per year targeted once fully operational
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• JP JenkinsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 February 2025The London Tunnels joined JP Jenkins after leaving Euronext Amsterdam, using the alternative trading venue for share trading following the company's delisting scheme announcement.
• British Military Intelligence MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The British Military Intelligence Museum is being relocated into the tunnel complex as part of the transformation. The museum will showcase untold stories of UK military intelligence from D-Day, Cold War espionage operations, the Falklands conflict, peacekeeping missions, and 21st century terrorist threats.
• WilkinsonEyrecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2024One of Britain's leading architectural firms engaged by The London Tunnels for the project. WilkinsonEyre is the practice behind the major restoration and repurposing of London's Battersea Power Station and the ambitious Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. They are responsible for the architectural design of the tunnel transformation.
• WSP GlobalcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2024Global engineering consultancy engaged by The London Tunnels for planning, engineering, and design work on the tunnel development project.
• Montagu EvanscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2024Consultancy engaged by The London Tunnels for planning services related to the tunnel development, including planning applications submitted to City of London Corporation and London Borough of Camden.
• Gardiner & TheobaldcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2024Construction and property consultancy engaged by The London Tunnels as part of the project team for the tunnel development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tower of London: The Tower of London is a historic, ticket-based heritage attraction in central London operated by Historic Royal Palaces. It dwarfs The London Tunnels in scale and brand but competes for the same tourist ticket spend and is the benchmark for premium heritage admission pricing in the city.
• Titanic Belfast: Titanic Belfast is a major heritage attraction development built around a single iconic historical site/story. It is a comparable recent benchmark for the development cost, visitor throughput, and economic impact of a large-scale immersive heritage attraction developed around a single narrative asset.
• Cutty Sark (Royal Museums Greenwich): Cutty Sark is a redeveloped heritage attraction in Greenwich combining preservation of a historic vessel with an immersive visitor experience under a glass canopy. It illustrates the model of taking a historically significant site and adding immersive elements to drive admissions and dwell time — a comparable operational pattern to The London Tunnels.
• British Museum: The British Museum is the largest free-admission heritage attraction in London and a major driver of inbound tourist flow. While a different category (free museum vs. paid immersive attraction), it is the key reference point for visitor throughput in central London and anchors the tourism clusters The London Tunnels will need to capture spillover demand from.

Direct peers

• The London Dungeon: The London Dungeon is the closest direct competitor: an immersive, actor-led underground heritage/dark-tourism experience in central London using live performance and sets. The London Tunnels will compete for the same tourist spend, group bookings, and school-trip segment, but with a real underground WWII heritage site vs. fabricated scenes.
• Churchill War Rooms: Churchill War Rooms is an underground WWII heritage attraction in Westminster operated by Imperial War Museums. It is the most directly comparable site — actual wartime underground bunker used by Churchill, with museum exhibits — and the closest thematic and product substitute for The London Tunnels.
• Edinburgh Dungeon: Edinburgh Dungeon is a sister concept to The London Dungeon — immersive underground attraction combining live actors, rides, and historical storytelling. It is a direct model for the type of paid attraction The London Tunnels is building, with comparable target market (tourists, groups, school trips) and similar pricing/throughput economics.
• Madame Tussauds London: Madame Tussauds London is a flagship central London paid visitor attraction that combines immersive set design, wax figures, and themed experiences. It competes for the same tourist ticket spend and demonstrates the kind of pricing power and per-visitor revenue that a well-located London attraction can generate.
• Bletchley Park: Bletchley Park is a UK WWII codebreaking heritage site that has been commercialized as a museum and visitor attraction. Although located outside London, it is the closest thematic analogue — secret WWII intelligence heritage repurposed as a public attraction — and illustrates both the demand for spy/intel heritage content and the execution model for monetizing such sites.

Regional players

• Catacombs of Paris: The Paris Catacombs are an underground heritage attraction housing millions of visitors annually. It is a relevant regional benchmark for the type of visitor experience, throughput, and pricing power an underground heritage site can achieve — though Located in Paris rather than competing directly with The London Tunnels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The London Tunnels