Tony O’Reilly retires today, after nine years as Covent Garden Market Authority’s Project Director, overseeing the redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market.

Tony, who had previously worked for Grosvenor Group, Get Living London and headed the development team responsible for the Athletes Village at the 2012 London Olympics, said that while the final phase of his career has included some of his most challenging periods, he feels he is able to leave the Market in a far better position than when he took on the role.

“This has become a far bigger project than I think even the people here at the Market recognised at the outset,” said Tony. “At Grosvenor Group, we would have termed it a Large Complex Project and any project of this size is going to throw up obstacles and difficulties to overcome. We’ve had our fair share! “The opening of the second and final section of the Buyers’ Walk in the Fruit and Vegetable Market in January felt like a seminal moment though; an occasion that I think really signified that the project is both working for the tenants and nearing its successful end," he continued.

“I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been bumps in the road, but overall, I will look back on the friendships with my colleagues at CGMA and the increasingly good relationships I have developed with many of the tenants at the Market. I’ve also worked closely with the team from New Covent Garden Market. and the increasingly good relationships I have developed with many of the tenants at the Market. I’ve also worked closely with the team from the developer Vinci St Modwen and I wish everyone at the Market all the very best with the remainder of the redevelopment and for the exciting times that lie ahead once the final phase is completed in around two years.”