New Covent Garden Market

New Covent Garden Market is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the United Kingdom. Located in Nine Elms, London, the market covers a site of 57 acres (23 ha) and is home to about 200 fruit, vegetable and flower companies. The Flower Market, which offers flowers, plants, foliages, sundries and interior decorations from the UK and from around the globe, is visited by 75% of florists in London, many of whom place morning orders and return to restock during the day as needed.

History
For many years the capital's main wholesale market for fruit and vegetables was at Covent Garden in central London, just as the meat market was at Smithfield, fish at Billingsgate and other food at Leadenhall Market. As the supply of fresh food was considered strategically important, the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) was set up in 1961, charged with modernising and overseeing the administration of the produce market. The CGMA is a statutory corporation, which reports to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Construction
Construction began in 1971 south of the Thames in Battersea, on the site of the former Nine Elms Locomotive Works and Nine Elms railway station. The new market opened for business on 11 November 1974, although its ceremonial opening, by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, was on 26 June 1975. In the 1980s, when the wholesale industry was threatened by the growth of supermarkets, New Covent Garden Market were able to switch focus to the hospitality industry. Since 1990, successive governments have attempted to privatise or dispose of the market as a going concern.

Redevelopment
By 2005, the buildings were beginning to show signs of their age, in need of modernising. Following a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the CGMA and DEFRA agreed on a plan to reform and redevelop the market to enable it to be eventually sold. The CGMA, which had previously paid any profits as dividends to HM Treasury, was allowed to retain its profits to fund the initial planning work. Funded by releasing spare land to the developers to build residential properties, the £2 billion project is expected to provide 135,000 square feet of commercial units and 100,000 square feet of retail facilities.

Delays
By the time redevelopment works started in 2015, the project's timeline had increased in scope and was expected to take 10 years. The Flower Market, situated near the Battersea Park Road entrance, opened in April 2017, with the Food Exchange opening in January 2018. Phase One of the regeneration completed in December 2019. However, traders were unimpressed about the quality of the new units, relating to logistics, spacing and electric capacity. In 2018, their Tenant association sued the CGMA over breach of contract. The lawsuit was settled in December 2020 with the CGMA agreeing to implement changes proposed in a consultation made earlier that year. The second phase of works started in January 2021, and is expected to complete in 2026.