New Brixton club, The Ton of Brix, opens to controversy over links to billionaire landlord DJ Taylor McWilliams

A new Brixton club, The Ton of Brix, has opened to controversy surrounding its links to billionaire landlord DJ Taylor McWilliams and his business Hondo Enterprises.

Texan property director McWilliams, who DJs under the Taylor HK moniker and is part of the tech-house trio Housekeeping, is the sole director of the company, which purchased the iconic Brixton Market and Market Row for £37.25 million in 2018. In 2020, McWilliams drew mass criticism and protests in Brixton and beyond after trying to evict Nour Cash & Carry from its base where it has been open for many years and has become a mainstay of the local area. A campaign was then launched to stop Nour from eviction.

The Ton of Brix, a joint venture between Percolate and Brixton Jamm, opened on Friday (9th December) and is taking over the former home of the treasured staple Club 414.

The venue was a legendary South London club run by Tony Pommell and Louise Barron, which formed in the aftermath of the 1981 Brixton uprising. The club was evicted by developer London Associated Properties (LAP) in May 2019 after a lengthy fight. Three months later, LAP sold the premises to McWilliams for a reported £2.35 million. At the time, Hondo stated it was committed to keeping the building as a music venue.

Hannah TW, co-founder of club night LOCAL Brixton, who threw parties at Club 414 in the past, shared her concerns on Instagram last week: “The 24-hour license that this venue has is because of the hard work of T and Louise who ran the club for 30 years in this space. They lived there and were evicted when their request to continue running 414 was rejected."

She continued: “The fact the building is still a venue is due to them too. They successfully resisted the site becoming flats in 2016, it went all the way to the high court where Lambeth were overturned.

"Whilst I’m really, really glad that this is still a club and not flats or a swanky shop, the fact it’s owned by someone that I see as a proponent of aggressive gentrification makes it hard to celebrate."

Percolate and Brixton Jamm have since responded to the concerns in a joint statement seen by DJ Mag, denying their involvement in the eviction of Club 414 and alleging that they were initially unaware of the controversy surrounding McWilliams, as The Ton of Brix project launched before the Save Nour campaign.

"We are well aware of the importance of Club 414 to many in the area, and the legacy it leaves behind. Its closing was a huge loss for Brixton’s nightlife scene and we joined you in mourning what the owners built. To be clear: we were in no way connected to their eviction. We are committed to honouring their legacy as an independent, grassroots music venue and maintaining this as a space for nurturing local talent", reads the statement.

It continues: "We have no involvement with Hondo outside of the fact that they are the landlords that we pay rent to — the same as huge numbers of other independent businesses across Brixton Village, Market Row and beyond."

The statement also emphasises that the club has "been in touch with key voices from the Brixton community throughout the process of opening this venue — their input has been invaluable and we are forever grateful for it".

Ton of Brix has launched an email address for locals to share their concerns and thoughts: [email protected].