The McGoff Group has appointed two leading retail food and drink experts to help deliver the vision for its Market 41 project in Urmston.

The company has enlisted the support of renowned Northern food commentator Thom Hetherington and national market experts WMC Retail Partners to help steer the development process for its new market food hall that will be created on Railway Road.

London-based WMC is an experienced market operator.  The owner of two markets in Wellington and Morley, the company operates a number of other markets around the country and has expertise in working with developers on all aspects of market management, retail development and placemaking.

Originally appointed to undertake a feasibility study for the proposed market hall, including competitor benchmarking, cost and income analysis and operating model options, WMC has now been appointed to develop a full business plan for the project and coordinate all aspects of the development including lettings, layout and legal agreements.

Sales and marketing manager at WMC, Esther Worboys, commented: “We are really excited to be working with the McGoff Group on this innovative new concept for Urmston and will draw on the experience of operating our own markets and implementing similar projects for others across the UK to deliver a fantastic new market hall that will further invigorate Urmston town centre and offer a great new leisure experience for locals.”

CEO of the Northern Restaurant and Bar exhibition, and consultant and commentator for the Northern food and drink scene, Thom Hetherington, will also form a key part of the team.  Close to developments in the restaurant and retail food and drink industry across the North of England, Thom has a wealth of knowledge, strong insight into consumer tastes and trends and great contacts that will help get the project off to good start.

He commented: “Urmston is already a great place to live with bags of potential.  Combining well known high street names with an ever growing and popular blend of independents, it’s a place that’s definitely on the up and the perfect location for this new market hall which promises to provide an extra dynamic to the flourishing food and drink offering in the town.  I look forward to contributing to the concept and design of the building and blend of food and drink operators focusing on local artisan traders to create a real point of difference.”

Director at the McGoff Group, Chris McGoff, commented: “The overall concept, blend of operators and operating framework are essential to getting this project right and I’m confident that with WMC and Thom on board we can create a fantastic new asset for Urmston that becomes a key part of the town.”

Market 41 is the working title for the proposed new food hall that will be built on the site of Urmston’s existing open air market on Railway Road.  Outline planning consent has already been granted for the development and work is due to begin on the market hall later this year with the aim of being open and trading in early 2019.

Building on the increasing popularity of local markets, the market hall concept will feature a diverse blend of 10-12 food and drink operators positioned around an informal central seating area of around 160-180 covers.  All traders will be carefully selected to ensure customers benefit from the very best quality and choice at competitive price points.  The intention is to provide something different from the existing retail offer in Urmston and there will be a strong focus on independent and small manufacturers from across the region who work with locally sourced artisan quality food and drink.