With its low start-up and running costs, street trading is a great way to start your own business.

Many thriving businesses started as market stalls; from familiar high street names such as Marks & Spencer, Poundland, and Tesco to fashion brands such as Dunelm and Super Dry as well as snack companies like Innocent drinks. Markets are exciting and vibrant places, even if you just want to work for yourself and are not yet ready to start a retail empire.

Different private markets have different arrangements for renting their pitches and stalls to traders including written contracts and informal, daily, arrangements.

The Council licences traders under the London Local Authorities Act 1990 (as amended) and our traders enjoy certain legal protections. Unlike commercial operators, we cannot use fees and charges from our traders to generate a profit and must set the fees based on the cost of providing the service. This is why trading on Council run markets is often much cheaper than trading on private markets.

Our market’s team currently licenses trading on:

• our eight street markets
• our fifty miscellaneous sites and kiosks (these are usually on busy streets or outside tube stations and are often florists or newsagents)
• forecourts (this is trading on private land where the customer is on the street whilst being served, often this is where a shop owns some pavement and is renting it to another businesses or where the shop owner is selling something different to the business of their shop)

We also grant licences for special events that involve street trading.

Consent to put tables and chairs on the street is dealt with by our Customer Service Team.

If you are resident in London you might qualify for Start Up Step Up London, a programme designed to help Londoners access entrepreneurship and improve their enterprise skills.

You can find out more information about becoming a street trader, and accessing low-cost funding to help you start your business, at the following places:

• Business is Great
• National Careers Service
• National Market Traders Federation
• Start Up Loans UK

Equipment suppliers

There are many places to buy market equipment but the following links are a good place to start:

Market equipment and stalls

• Apex Market Stalls
• Shopfittings
• Tarapflex
• Trader Supplies

Electrical adapters

• City Electrical Factors
• Screwfix
• Toolstation

To hold a licence you must be 17 years of age or older.

Insurance cover

Having the correct insurance ensures that, in the event of an accident, you, your workers, customers, and other members of the public are covered.

You must have public liability insurance covering a minimum of £5 million throughout the licensed period before you start trading.

If you are employing someone to work for you, you must also have Employers Liability Insurance.

This insurance should cost under £150 per annum and is included in the membership fee of the National Market Traders Federation or can be obtained through an insurance broker.

Additional requirements to sell food

To sell food you need to register with us as a food business. It is free to register, and your registration cannot be refused. You should register at least 28 days before trading. If you are preparing, cooking, or storing food at another location this must also be registered with the local authority where it is located.

Our street markets have a range of different hours and trading days to suit people who already have work or home commitments that prevent them from working 9 to 5.

We issue casual and temporary licences. Both licences detail the commodity that may be sold. Casual licences may have conditions relating to which markets they can be used on and which days. Temporary licences detail the days and the market that the trader is licensed to trade on.

Many traders have multiple licences and work on different markets on different days of the week.

We are currently seeking new traders for:

• Chalton Street Market
• Eton Avenue Market (Swiss Cottage)
• Plender Street Market
• Queen’s Crescent Market

If you would like us to inform you as soon as the applications are available, please fill-in our expression of interest form.

Special offers

We have a special discounted daily pitch price of £10 and £6 per additional pitch which is open to all new applicants to trade at Queen’s Crescent and Chalton Street markets.

If you are interested in trading at Queen’s Crescent Market and are currently licensed with another London local authority you can trade at Queen’s Crescent for two weeks without the need to fully comply with our current licensing process. All you need to do is to provide us a copy of your trading license and a public liability insurance certificate.

Camden welcomes charities and volunteers to join any market for free. There are no fees if you are not offering something for sale. Fees are negotiable/not applicable for groups selling to fund activity or promote activity. Apply for a charity or community stall.

You will be required to provide a copy of your Public Liability insurance. This insurance should cost under £150 per annum and is included in the membership fee of the National Market Traders Federation or can be obtained through an insurance broker.

This is trading on private land where the customer is on the street whilst being served, often this is where a shop owns some pavement and is renting it to another businesses or where the shop owner is running a business distinct from their shop on their own forecourt.

If you are a licensed casual trader you can buy tickets by calling our duty line 020 7974 2475.

• Monday to Wednesday from 9:30am 4:00pm
• Thursday 9:30am to 1pm

Or you can email us at marketsteam@camden.gov.uk.