Case study: New Covent Garden Flower Market relocation

Covent Garden’s Flower Market required a removal company to transfer a wide variety of plants, flowers and gardening accessories from Nine Elms to a new location opposite Battersea Power Station.

Background:

• New Covent Garden Market is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the UK
• The Flower Market offers an extensive range of flowers, plants, foliages and sundries, providing a central supply to 75% of London’s florists

Requirements:

• Covent Garden’s Flower Market required a removal company to transfer a wide variety of plants, flowers and gardening accessories from Nine Elms to a new location opposite Battersea Power Station
• Each stall was given a specific date and time to be moved, which had to be met precisely to ensure all moves were completed before the new Market opened
• Special consideration was required for the largest stall, which needed relocating before the rest of the Market

Solution:

• Vinci hired Pickfords Business Solutions on behalf of The Flower Market following a successful bid process and a number of recent collaborations with the leading construction company
• Pickfords met with the Covent Garden Market Authority, Market stallholders and Vinci every week for six weeks prior to the relocation to plan the moving process to minimise disruption to trading
• Pickfords created a move plan that included up to 110 crew members and 17 vehicles each day, utilising 500 moving crates in 200 cages within 10-12 hour shifts
• Plants of unusual size or shape were specially planned for to protect against damage, including the use of specially made Dutch trolleys for certain species
• Movement of the largest stall began nine days prior and completed before the rest of the Market

Result:

• All stalls were moved with minimal disruption to trading and within their allocated timeframe ahead of the Market reopening