The eleven dealers at the Geoffrey Van Arcade (No.107 Portobello Road) received formal notice on June 12 that their licence agreements would not be renewed when they expire at the end of August.
The premises currently house some of Portobello’s more upmarket dealers, a number of whom were exhibiting at the London fairs taking place this month.
The owner of the building, the Holland Park-based vintage clothing and textiles dealer Sheila Cook, who bought it in October 2006, told ATG in an email that a lease “has been assigned to a small local independent retailer”. She added that it is the only property that she owns in or near Portobello Road.
Campaigners for Portobello Road said it was sad to see the end of the arcade and could be damaging for the antiques market generally, although at the moment it remains unclear who will now move into the premises and whether they will be selling antiques or antiques-related stock.
In a separate development, the Good Fairy Market at No.100 Portobello Road has remained open over the last few weeks despite the notice that was given out in March that the 40-stall covered market would be closing.
The application by the owners to gain a time extension in order to redevelop the market will be considered at a council meeting set for July 6.
The applicant’s name on the planning document is Concentric Solutions Ltd, a software consultancy company that ATG understand are the owners of The Good Fairy site.
