We are the preferred buyer
We’re hugely excited to announce that the Buy Back Brixton campaign, led by the Brixton Traders & Community Association (BTCA) and The Advocacy Academy, has been confirmed as the preferred buyer in the purchase of Brixton Village and Market Row.
Having successfully proceeded through three rounds of the bidding process in competition with international private investors, our £50m bid was selected as the most robust, credible, and innovative option, and will now exclusively move to contract with the sellers, TPG Angelo Gordon. We are working to a six-month timeframe to raise the remaining funds and complete the legal and governance work required to complete the purchase.
To our knowledge, this will be the largest UK asset to be brought into community ownership, a truly historic moment. While there is still a long way to go, this is a huge step forward. We want to recognise what an incredible achievement getting to this point represents, for both the traders, whose livelihoods depend on the outcome, and for the community where the market sits at the very heart.
This campaign and successful bid is the latest demonstration of Brixton’s legacy of local activism, where our proud and inclusive community again came together to defy the odds. It began because traders and community members believed the people who live, work and trade in the market should be the people in control of its future, and that’s what we’ve delivered.
We have already started the process of formalising our groundbreaking blueprint for a different kind of ownership. We will be operating the market as a community asset, ensuring the future of the market will always be decided through a democratic and community-led process.
This is an opportunity to prove that another economic future can be built: one in which trade and community thrive together, young people have a place, independent traders are protected, and the wealth created in a place serves its people for generations.
But we’re not there yet. We need to continue fundraising to get the bid over the line, and to help build the best possible governance structure to make the market as sustainable as it can be. We know what needs to be raised, we know how we intend to raise it, and we have complete confidence we will get there. But we still need people to join us.
Finally, we want to say another big thank you to everyone who has put this campaign on the verge of history: the traders, who have been a central part of the campaign while also running their businesses; all our community allies working behind the scene; Councillor Martin Abrams and our local MP Helen Hayes for their continued support; and everyone who signed the petition, donated to the GoFundMe, shared the campaign on social media, and turned up to the rally - you’ve made the difference. None of this would have been possible without you.