When silversmith Alex Healy was planning her return to work after maternity leave, the first date she hoped to add to her diary was Liverpool’s Christmas market, an event where she had sold jewellery since 2021.
However, due to a change in operator and a rise in costs, Alex said this would be the first winter she would not be renting a stall and she and other traders were being “priced out”.
A new company, Underbelly, has taken over this year, and Alex said the cost of running a stall had doubled.
Liverpool City Council, which awarded the tender to Underbelly to run the event at St George’s Hall, said the markets offered a “cost-effective way for traders to showcase and sell their products”. It added the new operator would manage their own trader arrangements independently. Underbelly has been asked for comment.
Alex, 37, said selling her jewellery at the Christmas market on St George’s Plateau for the past five years had been a “really great place to be”. She said the friendship between traders had created “a community, family feel”.
Alex said she paid £6,780 including VAT and electricity to rent a chalet for the six-week market last year. She said the total cost of renting a chalet this year had risen to just under £14,000 before additional charges.
She said that, under the terms of a new contract, traders would be expected to pay additional charges for water and grey waste, chiller and storage space, and energy supply.
