On June 30th, the first brand new section of Buyers Walk to open at New Covent Garden Market since 1974 welcomed three firms as its inaugural tenants. We talked to all three about the move, to see how they feel about their new surroundings and whether it will change the way they view their businesses

The French Garden

The French Garden moved into units 401-408 and Iain Furness and Nathan Humphries (above) were both happy with the relocation. “It’s gone very well. The facilities seem pretty clinical at the moment, but that’s because they are brand new,” says Nathan.

For Nathan’s ‘clinical’, Iain used the word ‘sterile’, but he too recognises that after more than 25 years in their previous units, things were bound to feel strange at first.

“It was sad to leave because that was the place where The French Garden developed into the company that we are today,” Iain says. “I’m going to miss the other wholesalers around us and I’m going to miss the old building. But, as sad as it was, that door is closed behind us and we’re now fully focused on what the future holds for us.”

He continues: “We’ve moved from 10,888sqft of space to nearly 15,000sqft, so we’ve increased capacity by almost 50%, with another level on top. We were not desperate for more space right now, but we took it because we want the company to grow in this next phase and this gives us plenty of room to do that. Also, if we have a very busy day, we’ll have the cool chain capacity to keep more produce chilled and in perfect condition. That’s very important for customers in Guernsey and Jersey, for instance, and for products like baby leaf.”

As well as its attractive front-of-house look, the firm also has additional space for racking and storage, three times the freezer space, spacious and comfortable office space on both floors, a dry goods room, a kitchen, a ‘warm’ room, a storage room and a locker room and modern toilet facilities.

“This is bringing us into the 21st century operationally,” says Iain. “It will enable us to give a far better service to both our suppliers and our customers and also deliver a better working environment for our staff,"

Nathan adds: “All the staff were really excited about coming over. We’d been fitting this space out since last August so we’ve had plenty of time to think about what should be where and why. I haven’t come across anything yet and said “I wouldn’t have done it like that!”

“It’s cleaner and brighter, the fridges are more efficient and the staff are able to work far more efficiently,” says Iain. “As the business evolved in our old units, we had to find ways to fit everything into the old space and there were inevitably some compromises.” The time spent manoeuvring things and waiting for colleagues to move product around has “significantly decreased already,” adds Nathan.

Iain says: “There are no little alleyways or things that have been altered to make things fit. We’d altered so much there, but we’ve had all this time to get everything here just how we want it and apart from the odd glitch (which can be fixed) it’s all been working as we expected.”

Comments from suppliers and customers have been very positive, Nathan reports. “We’ve had customers in already from Spain, Poland and the UK and they have all been really impressed with both the offices and warehouse space. We have invested a lot of money in the facilities and that reflects well on the market, giving existing and potential business partners greater confidence, which can only help relationships to flourish.”

At the same time as the move, TFG and London Fresh amalgamated under one banner. London Fresh had been part of the French Garden group since it was formed 22 years ago, but now the two teams have combined to create a significant joint force. “We have kept every staff member from both companies,” says Nathan, “and we’ve kept all of the departments in the business. As with anything like this, the biggest challenge is integrating two teams and making sure that they are all willing to support and help each other.”

The staff showed their commitment to the business on moving day, when everyone was on hand out of hours to relocate from Block C to the shiny new units at NCGM.

Another change to the organisation has seen Simon Greenhill, formerly owner of Greenhill Mushrooms, joining the sales team to bolster its mushroom operation. “Simon has loads of experience and closed his business down before we took him
on,” Iain says. “The mushroom job is very competitive within the market, but because we have very good external mushroom sales, his specialised skills will add a lot.”

The relocation came at a quietish time for Buyers Walk generally, just prior to the school holidays and during Euro 2024. “We noticed the difference in footfall straight away,” says Nathan. “It has felt a bit empty some mornings. We were used to being next to Thorogoods, Newmans and Gilgrove, who like us generated a lot of traffic, but there are only three wholesalers now.”

Iain adds: “I think one of the concerns was that the split of the wholesalers would isolate the firms left in the old section of Buyers Walk, but the dynamics of it actually mean that this section is a bit more isolated right now. We do have a good following of loyal customers and they will still come to us, of course, and we also have a strong customer base outside the market. But what this has already shown us is that the split is going to be challenging. We’ll miss being part of that and the sooner the next phase is completed and all the wholesalers are back together again, the better.

“We’re the type of firm that is very proactive, we don’t stand around and wait for new customers to appear. Now, we’ll have to be even more on our game, but we’ll do it.”

Supreme Salads

Bart Conway, owner of Supreme Salads (unit 411) believes his firm’s new home will drive the business forward and that the redevelopment of the market can eventually pave the way for the next generation of wholesalers: “The facilities are so much better than we had before. I know some people who’ve been here for years will moan that it’s not the same, that it perhaps feels a bit sterile or that it’s too cold. But this is the way forward for this market,” says Bart, pictured.

“It’s clean, it’s efficient and it’s a modern environment where buyers will want to come and buy their produce. I’ve been working here for 42 years and set this business up in 2010. This isn’t about me or other people who have been around as long as I have – it’s for people like my son Nick and his contemporaries, who want to see that this market can continue to progress and be successful.”

Nick agrees: “The old buyers walk has the old-fashioned feel to it, that sort of nostalgic look that you see in films and it means a lot to the people who’ve been here 30, 40 or 50 years. I get that, of course, but personally I’m not going to miss the clutter; in our new place things are put straight and we’re not going to experience as many issues.

“I want it to be new and fresh and it does feel like we’re entering a new era. Everything looks a lot brighter and a lot cleaner. Now we’ve moved, we’ve taken a big step and there’s more chance for the company and the new generation in the market to grow.

“There’s a new generation of salesmen and companies that want to come through and I feel like whenever anything new comes into play, it brings new opportunities with it.”

Premier Foods Wholesale

Jason Tanner, Managing Director of The Menu Partners and Premier Foods Wholesale (pictured), noticed quick wins for PFW in its new home. “Within the first week, you could see the efficiencies – the chaps didn’t feel as if they were as busy, but that was because it was more organised within the warehouse and they had more space to operate in,” he says.

“It’s a completely different working environment – fridges running at 2-3°. All of the departments of Premier Food Wholesale are now next door to each other, which had never been possible before and we have a freezer, which will be a great asset to us. There’s a lot more space on the ground floor, so once it’s been Quality Controlled, everything can go inside. That’s also made it more enjoyable for the warehouse team and the salespeople.

“We have plenty of toilets and showers now, as well as a canteen upstairs and downstairs. We’ve got a nice boardroom and comfortable office space and we’ve got a golf simulator and a gym too, which is there for all of our staff. It does make it nicer for everyone.”

Acknowledging that there have been a few negative comments about the new building, Jason adds: “The new market has a different feel to it. Where the old building felt smaller and more compact, this is a larger building and having been used to working in the old building for 25 years, this doesn’t feel as homely yet. There is definitely an air about the place – it echoes more due to the higher ceilings, so it feels different.

“Some people just don’t like change, but there was always going to be a time when we could no longer keep trading out of units that were 50 years old. They were functional and they still worked for us, but however much money you spent on them to try and keep them looking nice, they were old and there were things that you just couldn’t change. You can’t say the new building doesn’t look nicer, it just doesn’t have that lived-in feeling that the other building had.

“This was something we’ve all been looking forward to for the last couple of years and it was frustrating towards the end of the process having spent millions of pounds to then have it sat there while we couldn’t physically use it.

“There will always be glitches and teething problems, things that were overlooked in the planning. We have got to look at the sprinkler system again, because we have lost the top row of racking as they stick out of the ceiling by a metre and a half. That’s not ideal.”

The entire stable of The Menu Partners is now in new units and 25 years since setting up Premier Fruits, Jason assesses the magnitude of the change. “It’s game-changing,” he says. “For the sort of customers we have been able to attract to the market now, the state-of-the-art facilities are crucial. I didn’t bring them to the old units, it wasn’t practical, but we can

do that now. This is going to be a new market, with a lot of potential – we need to work together to get everybody into their new units and ensure that the whole market operates in a way that makes it attractive for customers to come here.

“Our business has changed, but 30-35% of it is still face to face, so we have a good proportion of customers who want to come to Buyers Walk and look at the product they’re buying. We’ve also got a large part of our business that delivers all over the country, which is why we have 18 articulated lorries, two 32-tonners and an 18-tonner.

“A lot of people can be too fixated on [what happens in] the market in my opinion. I think people have to try and look outside; we’re in a £100 billion food industry and there are plenty of potential customers outside. When people say that less customers are coming to the market, well, there are customers to be approached outside the market. Making that effort has been a big element of our success.”

Premier Foods Wholesale is now located in units 301-313 and units 409-410 in the new block.