New Covent Garden Market

The UK’s New Covent Garden Market has announced that it is entering the final stages of planning for a proposed multi-million pound redevelopment of its south London site, with the market’s authority having selected two final bidders for a private development partner.

The Market Authority said it had reached “a number of significant milestones” in the process with the conclusion of its third public consultation and the naming of two final bidders, Bouygues UK Ltd and Vinci plc/St Modwen Properties plc.

In a statement, Covent Garden Market Authority’s chief executive, Jan Lloyd, said site managers had entered into “detailed discussions” with both bidders as part of a competitive process, adding that the authority was “on track” to select a single preferred development part by autumn this year.

Since the start of the year, Lloyd said the authority had been finalising plans for the site following the third successful public consultation in March and ongoing discussions with the Greater London Authority, the London Borough of Wandsworth and neighbouring landowners.

She added that a planning submission would be made to New Covent Garden’s local authority in London, Wandsworth Council, for the entire site by early autumn.