Brixton market traders are in a battle of “people over profit” after submitting a last-minute plan to stop the site being bought by a private equity firm, which they fear could price out longstanding independent businesses. The Buy Back Brixton campaign has advanced to the second stage of a bidding process, competing against multinational companies to buy Brixton Village and Market Row for community ownership. They will find out within days whether their “once in a generation” bid, listed at £50m, is successful, after hundreds attended a rally in support.
Community bid to preserve cultural legacy
“If the market changes any more than it already has, what has been built here will disappear. That’s what we’re fighting for,” said Meera Ghanshamdas, co-chair of the Brixton Traders Community Association (BTCA) and co-director of Roundtable Books. “We want to make this people over profit. This is much more than a commercial space for us. Brixton has a huge cultural legacy, but it also has a resistance history. And people are coming out for that.”
Known as London’s most diverse market, it hosts vendors from over 50 countries and has a strong African-Caribbean presence from the Windrush community who moved to the area in the 1940s and 50s. Traders have faced rising rents and service charges in recent years, and fear a new private equity owner would push costs higher to maximise profit.
Gentrification fears and rising costs
“We have already seen the start of gentrification. Certain shops are not there any more. And there used to be music in every shop – Brazilian, Venezuelan, Jamaican reggae – but we’re not allowed to do that any more,” said Esme, who runs a fruit and vegetable stall she set up 22 years ago to cater to the Caribbean community. “I just want to know that everything we have here is secure for the next generation, for our children – that there’s still something for them to be a part of.”
The site is currently owned by a company controlled by Texas millionaire businessman and DJ Taylor McWilliams, who had planned to redevelop the market and build a 20-storey office block. Fierce backlash led to that planning application being withdrawn in 2023. The site was then put up for sale for £80m, but with little interest, traders began discussing a community buyout.
Emergency fundraising and community support
In June, traders discovered numerous interested parties, including multiple private equity firms, and launched an emergency drive to raise £15m for an initial bid to borrow the rest of the money. Supported by the Advocacy Academy, they have raised £565,000 via an online fundraiser and secured significant investments from charities to submit a “comprehensive and competitive” bid.
Local Labour MP Helen Hayes and Lambeth council leader Martin Abrams have backed the bid. The council recently designated the market as an asset of community value to create extra protections. Carole Mourier, owner of Full Moon Designs, said traders are “shaping history” with their plans. “We’re the first people to do this, and it would be amazing to succeed. Not just for us, but to also show other places, other markets, that community is really important.”
Comparison to other London markets
Traders fear Brixton could head in the direction of Camden Market, owned by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, and Old Spitalfields Market, owned by luxury developer Tribeca Holdings, both criticised for corporate gentrification. Oliviero Veneri-Thomas, a local young person involved in the campaign, said the market is “like a home”. “You can travel all four corners of the globe just going down the road. There’s some things that you just can’t quantify by monetary value. It’s the flavours, it’s the spices, it’s the smells, the conversations. So when I heard that was under threat, I thought I can’t just stand by and let private developers make changes to communities.”
