Mike Ashley lines up £30m deal for Brixton Market

Brixton’s famous market, home to 140 restaurants and retailers, could be snapped up by Sports Direct in a surprise £30 million deal.

The Sports Direct retail empire, headed up by infamous chief executive Mike Ashley, is said to be a “front-runner” to buy Brixton Village and Market Row in South London.

Ashley is unlikely to make the deal personally, however, with any purchase likely to be made through a Sports Direct subsidiary. The founder of the sports firm is still trying to sell his controlling stake in Premier League football club Newcastle United.

Sports Direct has declined to make any comment about the deal, reports the Evening Standard.

The talks over Brixton Market’s future have come a few months after it emerged that a company related to Sports Direct had acquired land located near the market itself, occupying a gap between two Brixton train lines.

It has been reported that the properties that make up the Brixton Market generate a potential rental income of £1.3 million a year, with Sports Direct also possibly eyeing opening up its own stores there in the long-term.

Any move to buy the market could echo the recent strategy of Teddy Sagi, an Israeli millionaire and founder of gambling software firm Playtech, who bought large areas of Camden to bring its markets under one owner. He has also helped stall operators launch online stores.

Brixton Market is currently being sold by property agents GCW and Lewis & Partners on behalf of London & Associated properties.

There are also home-grown attempts to buy the market and bring it under public ownership, including My Tribe Village which plans to crowdfund the acquisition.

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