Borough wholesale market has followed the usual pattern of UK wholesale markets and now only has four traditional traders left, but the atmosphere is one of a kind. Positivity surrounds the original traders - E&A Sugarman, A&W Bourne, C&C Fruit and G Rowe Herbs and Mushrooms - who have their bit to say about the decrease in wholesalers over the last century. They are, however, proud of surviving the advent of the supermarkets to be part of one of the most modern wholesale facilities in the UK.
From an empty and near derelict site, Borough Market’s trustees turned the London Bridge location into a bustling hub for food businesses, chefs and consumers alike. In 1998, the market was at its lowest point and consisted of 12 businesses, making £400,000 a year. Today, the market boasts 160 businesses, including wholesalers, secondary wholesalers, retail traders, restaurants and shops, and brings in £2.5 million a year. And for the second year running, the market has been voted Best Market in the Capital, winning gold in the Visit London People’s Choice Award.
Wholesaler A&W Bourne has been trading since 1889 and owner Martin Bourne is the fourth generation of his family to run the business. He believes that the market has only got better since its regeneration. “It is a much nicer environment to work in now,” says Bourne. “It is a good place to operate and has totally been revamped, with new flooring and roofing. And it is being kept up to date, so the trustees are doing a good job. Wholesale is a different matter to retail as it attracts tourists and office workers, but we all work together and supply retailers L Booth and Elsey & Bent - we have a good relationship.”
By adding retail traders to the mix 10 years ago, the trustees have made the market, as a whole, sustainable - hopefully for many years to come. The wholesale traders welcomed the new retail side to the market, which now runs from Wednesday to Saturday, and have embraced it to the extent that they have been turning their hands to retail -and, in turn, retail traders have started to dabble in the wholesale side.
“As well as the traditional fruit and vegetable market thriving, new wholesalers have been added and retail traders are doing wholesale - which is a totally new element,” explains George Nicholson, a Borough Market trustee. “We have a casual market of around 80 stores and, around that, trustees made the decision to use all shops to sustain the retail market. In addition to that, we built a restaurant to support what we are trying to do as a market. It has been an element that makes Borough interesting, as 10 years ago a shop on the market would have gone bust.
“Now we are using the market as a platform to promote other things as well, such as the Borough Market Cookbook. Borough Market is on the road as a brand and it gives all the traders a lift.”
Wholesaler G Rowe has certainly felt a lift during the regeneration of the market. Owner Geoff Rowe has been trading on the market for the last 35 years and says that the only discomfort from the construction works was the temporary units that the firm was moved to for a couple of years. “We have been in the new units for 18 months now and, since then, we have seen trade increase four-fold because we are more physically accessible,” he says. “We have a lot more room to introduce new lines and it looks a lot better as a whole. Borough wholesale market is definitely here to stay.”
Andy Sugarman, chairman of Borough Market Tenants’ Association, confirms that the market is in a good position compared to the rest of the country’s wholesale markets. “The situation we were in 10 years ago was the same one every wholesale market was in,” admits Sugarman, who also runs his own wholesale company, E&A Sugarman. “This industry changed out of all proportion due to the supermarkets and out-of-town shopping.
“Now we have a fantastic new wholesale market that has helped the long-term sustainability of the wholesale market, thanks to the trustees. The growth of the retail market has come out of all our hard work and vision. The future is rosy.”
Now, as Borough Market retailers such as Chegworth Valley Apple Juice started to wholesale apples, so wholesalers have swapped sides and branched out into retail. Wholesaler C&C was one of the first, starting fruit and veg retail business Elsey & Bent eight years ago. Secondary wholesaler L Booth has sold to consumers, as well as caterers, from its retail site since retailers were welcomed onto the market, and now G Rowe is venturing into retail. “We are looking forward to having a retail unit and a new challenge,” says Rowe. “We should have had one a year ago, but we have been waiting for the work to be done on the roof and a widened public walkway, which our retail outlet will look out on. It will be different hours, but it will really add to the business and also remind consumers that the fruit and vegetables come from the wholesalers.”
And wholesale traders have seen an increase in street market traders coming to buy fruit and vegetables. “Street market customers are changing,” says Sugarman. “They come to us because our product range is pretty substantial and there is enough choice. There is no room to sell poor quality now. Street markets want value for money, but know that consumers are looking for quality at a street market, which sets them apart from the supermarkets.
“But then producers are generally growing better stuff in the UK and it looks better as well,” he adds. “You can see this in the growth of farmers’ markets - these are the archetypal markets, where everything is as fresh as possible.”
Catering suppliers such as L Booth and Turnips are also making a place for themselves, with top chefs from all around London coming to Borough Market for its quality and ability to offer fresh produce with a point of difference.
L Booth supplies caterers and chefs with a selection of wild and cultivated mushrooms, as well as specialist produce such as Jerusalem artichokes and fresh green peppercorns. “We work on two levels with the chefs,” explains owner Tony Booth. “We take orders and deliver from our depot here directly to restaurants and we deal with caterers and chefs who want to come on site and have a look at the produce.
“Then we open to consumers on our retail-facing side of the site, so we are here from 12am until the retail market closes. Retail-wise, we take the majority of the money we make on Friday and Saturday; the other days are just preparation days really. And like every market, the weather has to be nice to get the customers in.
“A mix of wholesale and retail is the only way forward, otherwise you will have a dying market,” he insists. “Marketing also pushes trade forward and we have been very lucky to have as much media attention as we do - journalists write about the place, the TV programme Market Kitchen is filmed here, and the market has become a real hub. It was completely dead 10 years ago.”
But could this brand that Nicholson talks of throw a spanner in the works? Sheila Dillon, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme, told the trustees as much at the market’s 10-year celebration event last month. She said she was appalled with the level of rent that retailers are paying at Borough Market, claiming that traders had seen several rent increases and now paid £8 per square foot. “You are pushing retailers out,” said Dillon. “And making the food in the market more expensive. This is a warning that you are heading in the direction of McDonalds and coffee chains.
“It is a marvellous place, but it will not be marvellous if the people who rent it are struggling. I fear for the people of Borough Market.”
Booth believes Dillon has a point. “The retail part of the market has got to be kept at an evenly balanced rent because produce will become too expensive for the general public to buy,” he says. “The trustees have to sort it out to be acceptable to both sides. They need waking up.”
Lisa Dene, co-owner of Chegworth Valley Apple Juice, believes that life at Borough Market has become a real struggle. The company sells apple juice and apple-related products from Thursday to Saturday, and claims to be paying a hefty rent, as trade dwindles. “Saturday pays for Thursday and Friday, because Saturday trading is what Borough Market is known for,” says Dene. “On a Saturday it is a popular tourist attraction and a bustling market, but on Thursday and Friday there are completely different people here - office workers on their lunch break buying a few things for their lunch. But even they have stopped coming to the market and people must be cutting back. It is a tough time and now the market is much quieter, which will have a knock-on effect.”
The company is finding it hard to balance running its farm and retail concerns now that consumers have started to watch their spending. Dene worries that, as the financial climate worsens, fewer tourists will want to come to a market that some deem expensive.
“We have ups and downs here,” she continues. “The retail market ticks over, but we are farmers as well and we have another job to do. Sunny days are better for trade, but you have got to consider that people will not buy more than they can carry on the tube or bus, due to our location.”
But Nicholson is quick to respond, putting Borough retail traders’ rent into context by pointing out that Preston retail market charges £22 per sqft, and that all the money goes to sustain the future of the market. “The rent at Borough Market is by no means out of line with any other retail market, such as Leicester and Birmingham,” he explains. “Historically, the rent has been very low. When we started the regeneration, the rent was as low as £2 per sqft. When we made applications for funding from the government, our end goal was to charge £10 per sqft. We cannot exist on a shoestring and we have large overheads.
“A balance has got to be struck. The tenants are under the illusion that everything is paid by them, but 28 per cent is paid with retailers’ rent and wholesalers pay 33 per cent.”
However, there are a couple more black clouds looming over the market that the trustees cannot fix -the congestion charge and the new railway viaduct.
Parallel to an existing one, a new viaduct is being constructed over the Borough area, and part of the existing viaduct is also being widened. A great effort has been made between the market trustees, traders and Network Rail to make sure that the plans strike the right balance between building the extra rail capacity and safeguarding the market. But traders are starting to get edgy, with construction work due to begin in January. The market will remain open throughout construction, but a number of retail traders will have to relocate temporarily.
“The Network Rail work is a big issue,” confirms Sugarman. “There has been some preparation work going on and there has been no disruption because it has had a year of planning to make it run smoothly to date. But the main body of work is set to start in the New Year and traders are getting nervous. Retailers will be temporarily relocated to the Jubilee car park area and we do not know what effect that will have on people left in the facility. We are waiting to see what it will bring and will cross each bridge when we come to it.”
The congestion charge is still a sore point on the market and, according to some wholesale traders, has changed the way they operate. “In my opinion, I only have one problem, and that is the fact that I pay a congestion charge to leave the market and so do my customers,” says Bourne. “At the time the congestion charge came about, the tenants’ association put our argument to Ken Livingstone but he was not interested. Our trade from a certain time has all gone.”
Rowe agrees. “It is not fair that we have to pay the charge when others have been freed from it,” he says. “It is basically £8 for an a hour of our day and I think it is totally wrong. There are only four traditional traders here, so why can we not have a pass each? Besides that, it puts customers off, as I have had a few people tell me they will not come here any more.”
So what do the next 10 years hold for Borough Market? Mostly, traders are optimistic about the future.
“Since we have been in the market it has become bigger and better,” says Kelly Boyle from retail firm Elsey & Bent. “More restaurants are appearing and the market now offers a much wider choice. All this has been possible with the consistent support and help from the market authority and the trustees.
“The market is always evolving and keeping up to date, and over the next 10 years, we are confident that Borough Market will go from strength to strength.”
Sugarman is determined not to get left behind, like so many other wholesalers in the UK. “Supermarkets have the edge,” he says. “People think they are cheaper, but they are not and their quality is probably not as good.
“You have to keep up with the times. We have just seen a 100-year-old business bite the dust on the high street, but Woolworths was an outdated environment and now Primark is the new kid on the block. That is the nature of the beast - once you start sliding, it is usually over.
“But we have got to be positive about it and look at our businesses and the market year on year and season on season. There is still a living to be made. Our job is to work with customers, build a partnership with the market and supply good-quality fruit and vegetables.”
Nicholson believes that the wholesale market will go from strength to strength in the next 10 years. “It is a small wholesale market and it exists - it is the soul of the market and has functional traders still here making a living.
“The wholesale market is actually growing at Borough because of the input and increased activities of the retail traders.”
BOROUGH COUNTS DOWN TO CHRISTMAS
As the credit crunch makes an impact on Christmas this year, Borough Market’s traders share their thoughts on the festive season.
“As usual, we have a full range of Christmas produce including cranberries, chestnuts, dates and clementines,” says Kelly Boyle from Elsey & Bent. “We are far from disappointed with the Christmas trade.
“The economic downturn would appear to be affecting every walk of life and we cannot see there being an exception for us. However, we have every confidence that we will get through it.”
“Christmas trade this year will probably be the quietest we have ever had because of the economic situation,” says Geoff Rowe from G Rowe. “The way the period falls on Thursday and Friday, no-one will want any fruit or vegetables between Christmas and New Year, especially with the supermarket open all the time.”
“Christmas trees from Norway have been much more expensive this season and we have had to put the price up considerably,” says Martin Bourne of A&W Bourne. “Compared to last Christmas, we had a much better trade and this year is not looking too hopeful. Lots of people are going back to basics and cutting down.”
“Hopefully, Christmas will be a good time for us,” says Peter Robinson from C&C. “People have still got to eat even if they are low on money, and we can offer good prices. We get in nuts from the US and Israel, as well as dates, and these lines usually do really well. Everything is in place for a good Christmas.”
FROM FLOWERS TO ORGANICS
Wholesaler Paul Wheeler Fresh Supplies Ltd, a sub-company of L Booth, has turned completely to the retail side and has been trading as a retail company for three years at Borough Market.
The stall started out as a flower trader primarily, but has seen demand dwindle and so switched to organic fruit and vegetables. “We used to have the whole of one side of the walkway covered in flowers, but business decreased and no-one else sells totally organic produce on the market, so we thought we would give it a go,” says co-owner Harriet Booth. “Trade has been okay and we are looking for a good florist so we can start up with flowers again, but before it was just insulting to ask people to spend £25 on a bouquet of flowers that didn’t necessarily have the wow factor. We now stock more than 100 lines of organic vegetables and use an organic wholesaler based in Wandsworth. Depending on the season, our products are mostly English, with bits from Europe and two or three lines that are from outside Europe. You have to stock what people want, but then a lot of consumers do not understand that we have to source away from the UK or that products grown in a greenhouse in this country may not necessarily be as environment-friendly as product grown in Spain.
“We sell a lot of rainbow carrots, Romanesque and purple haze cauliflower. But Borough Market can be a funny place. We have both regular customers and people passing through, so turnover can go up and down. Trade is good, but not as good as usual. There are a lot of tourists, which is a necessity, but not as many real shoppers. I think that there are too many hot food stands, which deflect from the real traders and the real reason people should come to the market -to shop,” she added.
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