GB Foliage has been an integral part of New Covent Garden Flower Market for the past 17 years, having first opened in 2007. However, Dave’s market history goes back much further, as he’s spent a total of 36 years working in Nine Elms, since joining the flower and foliage industry quite late at 32 years of age.

“I’d never been a market man like some of the other people in the market who joined as teenagers or followed in family footsteps,” says Dave. “When I left school, I started working in the City for an insurance company. Then I worked in retail for Marks and Spencer, followed by a stint in the civil service.”

However, Dave’s family did have a connection with New Covent Garden Fruit and Vegetable Market, as his dad ran a successful greengrocer’s business in the days before supermarkets expanded and swallowed up a lot of the local trade. “I’d spend a lot of time working alongside my dad in his greengrocers and that’s where I picked up my strong work ethic,” remembers Dave. “Even when I started working full time, I’d take holidays from my 9-to-5 job and work for my dad, as I enjoyed it so much!”

Unbeknown to Dave, the market his dad bought fresh produce from was to become a much larger part of his own life. “My time at the Flower Market came about by chance really,” explains Dave. “The owner of foliage business AF Bacon had just got married and was looking to spend more time with his wife, and he offered me the job to cover Saturdays. At the time I was already working full-time elsewhere, but I needed to work six days as I had a young family and the job with AF Bacon was perfect.”

After just a month, Dave had made an impression on his new boss, and was asked to join the business full time. “It was quite easy for me to pick up the knowledge working with foliage, and I really enjoyed the interaction with the customers, so I gave it a go,” he recalls. Dave stayed with AF Bacon for many years before his boss retired and closed the business. “That’s when I thought that I’d give it a go on my own and we set up GB Foliage.” Dave quickly established his new business in the old Flower Market building, using his extensive knowledge of foliage and contacts to create a new set of principles to trade by.

Dave (left) with client and celebrity florist Shane Connolly

“From the start, we prided ourselves on service and friendliness, alongside the best quality of course,” he says. “That’s what we’ve always aimed for, going with the flow and letting the business grow steadily over the years. I’ve seen a lot of florists come and go over the years, but we’ve been very lucky to establish a great client base who have been very loyal to us.”

By specialising in British foliage, Dave and his team let themselves be steered by the seasons in terms of the product they offered their clients. “The beauty is that each season there is always something different coming through to offer our customers, which keeps it fresh for us,” says Dave. “The most difficult task we face is looking after the products in the summer months when it’s really hot outside, but everything’s kept in water and in a temperature-controlled environment.”

Now, after 36 years working in the Flower Market, Dave’s made the decision to retire and shutter GB Foliage for the final time at the end of August. “It’s been a tough decision to decide on retirement, but it’s the right time. What influenced my thinking was the death of my manager Adil Boulahri, who passed away in January this year while he was on holiday in Morocco. He was only 45 years old. We’d worked together for a short while at AF Bacon, and he had been working for me ever since we established GB Foliage. He was a much-loved colleague, a brilliant salesman with a wonderful eye for cutting foliage and he is greatly missed. His passing had a big effect on all of us and the grief throughout the Flower Market was unprecedented. Adil’s passing was a real pointer for me and made me think about my life and my retirement. So, the final trading day for GB Foliage will be August 30^th. Although I’m looking forward to the future, I’m sad to leave at the same time and I’ll miss the relationships with my customers and the challenges of keeping them happy - providing for all their needs has been the most important part of the business and what I’ll miss the most.”

It’s clear that Dave’s customers also have a lot of love for him and the GB Foliage business: as we’re chatting outside the Flower Market for this feature, a motorcyclist in full leathers comes over and – after removing her helmet - gives Dave a big hug. She’s shocked to learn of Dave’s retirement but tells Dave everyone needs to be able to retire and look ahead to the next stage of their lives. “We love Dave,” she tells me, explaining how it won’t be the same without him and his teammates. There has been a similar outpouring of love both in the market and on social media since Dave announced his impending departure.

So how is he planning to spend his new free time from September onwards? “I’ve got a really big allotment where I grow lots of vegetables, and that gives me a lot of pleasure,” says Dave. “I’ll be spending a lot of time there, plus I’m looking forward to seeing more of London, which is on my doorstep as I live within London. Because of the hours we work and the long days, I’ve never been to the big London venues such as the Science Museum or the National Gallery, so I’ll enjoy spending time on a little bit of culture. There’s so much to see and do but I’m not in a rush and won’t be making any lists! I’ll take each day as it comes.”

On behalf of everyone across New Covent Garden Market, we wish Dave and his team all the best for the future.