Smithfield Market is closing down primarily due to the City of London Corporation voting in November 2024 to withdraw support for the 850-year-old site, citing unsustainable operating costs and the abandonment of a £1 billion relocation project. The historic site is being redeveloped into a new cultural and commercial hub, including the new London Museum.
According to the City's press statement, "Most of the Traders from both markets have agreed to move together to a new site with the remaining intending to transfer their business to others, ensuring that 100% of trade will continue". The move would not happen before 2028. The plans are still tentative.
While many are concerned for traders and the loss of the market's unique sights, sounds and smells, the corporation's decision – blamed on rising costs – is just the latest step in the decades' long transformation of the wider Smithfield area.
When the plan was made public, in April 2019, excitement was expressed about the City of London Corporation, owner of the Smithfield meat market in Farringdon, Billingsgate fish market in Poplar and the New Spitalfields horticultural produce hub in Leyton, consolidating all three in one place.
Are Smithfield and Billingsgate markets to close due to decreasing demand for meat and fish?
The corporation announced the permanent closure of London's historic Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market in late 2024, when it pulled the plug on a planned £1bn relocation to a new sitein the east of the capital at Dagenham.
Historic London Markets To Close: Smithfield & Billingsgate Could Shut After Centuries Of Trading
Why are they shutting the billingsgate market?
Jason Holland. Billingsgate fish market – which is the oldest fish market in the U.K. capital of London and what was once the world's largest fish market – is set to close in 2028 after the City of London Corporation recently decided to withdraw its support.
Yes, absolutely! Anyone can shop at London's historic Smithfield Market (and Manchester's New Smithfield Market), not just trade buyers like restaurants and butchers, but the general public can buy meat, poultry, fish, and produce, often at better prices, though you'll usually need to buy in bulk and be prepared for an early start.
Smithfield was almost a city within a city – and one with its own hours. To give customers time to buy and prepare their meat for sale the same day, the market opened at night.
Large Chinese producers and smaller hog farmers raise 97% of the pork to feed their population, but they look to the European Union, the United States, and Canada to round out the remaining 3%. Approximately 1% of their imports come from the U.S. – equaling roughly 496 thousand metric tons worth $1.1 billion.
In 2025, 68% of London leavers stayed in the South of England (South East, South West or East of England) – the highest proportion since 2021 and up from 62% in 2024. This marks a reversal of the pandemic and then affordability-led trend that pushed buyers further into the Midlands and North.
A Smithfield Foods spokeswoman said that the smokehouse had reached the end of its useful life and that the company has plenty of genuine Smithfield hams stockpiled to satisfy immediate demand.
Yes, Bradford's historic Kirkgate Market (and the adjacent Oastler Market) closed permanently on June 28, 2025, to be replaced by the new, modern Darley Street Market, with demolition of the old market planned for new housing as part of a city regeneration project. Traders have moved to the new facility, and while many are sad to see the old market go, they are optimistic about the future in the new space.
Joseph W. Luter, Jr. Then known as Shuanghui Group, WH Group purchased Smithfield Foods in 2013 for $4.72 billion. It was the largest Chinese acquisition of an American company to date.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world (36%) followed by poultry (33%), beef (24%), and goats/sheep (5%).
In the UK, goat meat is usually just called goat meat, though it can be called chevon (from adult goats) or kid (from young goats) for more specific culinary terms, but unlike in South Asia where "mutton" often means goat, in the UK mutton specifically refers to meat from older sheep.
Kobe Beef is a specific variety of Wagyu from the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan, considered one of the most expensive and luxurious cuts available. Kobe beef, in particular, has a reputation for being one of the most exclusive and expensive steaks in the world, sometimes costing hundreds of dollars per pound.
The 2% rule in real estate investing is a quick guideline where a rental property is considered potentially profitable if its monthly rent is at least 2% of the total purchase price (including initial repairs/costs). For example, a $200,000 property should aim for $4,000 in monthly rent ($200,000 x 0.02). It's a useful first-pass filter to screen properties for strong gross cash flow, but it doesn't account for all expenses and market specifics, so a detailed financial analysis is still needed.
