For landowners, councils & venues
Car boot sales & markets.Recurring income for your property.
We operate six established car boot sale and market locations. A regular sale can bring recurring income and community activity to your property, with dates and operating arrangements agreed around its other uses and longer term plans.
Our record includes two Essex County Council sites operated year round since 2021 and a 15 year Gloucester City Council lease awarded through competitive tender.
locationsIncluding Cuffley
with a history of
over 30 years
busiest weeksCombined across
all six Capital
Boot Sales sites
each yearAcross our six
seasonal and
year round venues
liability coverPlus a further
£10m employers’
liability cover
council leaseAwarded through
a competitive
public tender
council sitesBoth sites host
regular sales
all year round
Our operating record
Six established locations
Our experience includes establishing new sales, developing existing events, reopening a city market and managing longstanding venues.
Reopening a city market
Hempsted Meadow, Gloucester
- Property
- Hempsted Meadow, Gloucester City Council
- Capital’s role
- Reopened the city’s purpose built car boot sale and market after competitive public tender
- Operating arrangement
- 15 year council lease with Sunday and Wednesday sales year round
The council assessed Capital’s plans for land management, public facilities, marshalling, waste and compliance with planning conditions. The agreement provides a long term basis for developing the market.
Establishing and developing sales
Sandon and Colchester Park and Ride
- Property
- Sandon and Colchester Park and Ride, Essex County Council
- Capital’s role
- Established the Colchester sale and developed Sandon into a substantial regular event
- Operating arrangement
- Both operated by Capital since 2021 with Sunday and bank holiday Monday sales year round
Both sales work around the sites’ transport use, with the trading areas cleared and ready for the Park and Ride service to resume. The arrangement provides recurring income alongside their established public use.
Managing longstanding venues
Great Amwell and Cuffley
- Property
- Hillside Farm and Hill View Farm, private land in Hertfordshire
- Capital’s role
- Runs the longstanding Great Amwell and Cuffley sales
- Operating arrangement
- Seasonal Sunday sales with bank holiday Mondays at Cuffley
Cuffley’s venue history spans more than 30 years. Great Amwell’s 52 acre setting and Cuffley’s established selling field accommodate hundreds of sellers on the busiest mornings, with managed arrivals, separate parking and ongoing site care.
Establishing new sales
Edmonton, Lee Valley Leisure Complex
- Property
- North West Arena at the Lee Valley Leisure Complex, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
- Capital’s role
- Established a new midweek car boot sale
- Operating arrangement
- Seasonal Wednesday sales with defined trading areas and agreed access
The sale works alongside the complex’s other leisure activities. Defined selling areas and separate hardstanding buyer parking keep the trading and arrival arrangements clear.
Site management
From setup to handback
Capital manages promotion, staffing, arrivals, parking and clearance. Our team enforces trading rules, including the ban on prohibited goods. You have one point of contact throughout, with layouts, facilities and site care agreed around your property.
Commercial arrangements
An agreement shaped around your property
We build sales over time through regular promotion and a dependable calendar. Commercial terms are discussed around the site, its other uses and your longer term plans.
The main arrangements
- Rent or licence fee and length of agreement
- Trading dates and dates kept for your other uses
- Selling areas, parking and access
- Staffing, facilities and insurance responsibilities
- Clearance times and site care
- Communication, notice and renewal arrangements
Event & leisure venues
Sale dates and operating areas are agreed around concerts, fixtures and other events, with clearance timed for the venue’s next use.
- Working car parks
- Our Essex experience shows how regular sales can fit around a working car park’s transport use.
- Private land & estates
- Selling and parking areas, ground conditions, site care and seasonal use form part of the operating arrangements.
- Land awaiting development
- A defined trading area and operating term are considered alongside the development programme.
Launching, reopening & developing sales
Building attendance over time
A new venue needs its first audience. A returning sale needs people to come back. We draw on our seller network, local promotion and a combined social media following of more than 100,000 to build interest.
- Understand the local area
- We assess local demand, access, nearby sales and suitable dates.
- Recruit sellers & reach buyers
- We use targeted local Facebook advertising to attract buyers and sellers to each new venue, supported by our existing seller network and social following.
- Give people a reason to return
- We publish a dependable calendar and opening updates, then review turnout and feedback to improve subsequent dates.
Community & local economy
Create a place the community uses
A regular sale gives local people access to affordable everyday goods, a way to earn money from unwanted belongings and somewhere to meet. It brings activity to the property on agreed days, with Capital managing the sale and clearing the trading areas afterwards.
Household budgets go further
Affordable clothing, toys and household goods help families stretch tight budgets. Selling unwanted belongings provides a practical way to raise extra money. Under 16s enter free.
Local trading and fundraising
A pitch offers independent traders a low overhead route to customers. Discounted pitches for registered local charities help them raise funds and meet supporters.
Useful goods stay in circulation
Furniture, tools, clothing and everyday items find new owners. Reuse extends their useful life and offers an alternative to buying new or throwing usable things away.
Social contact and wellbeing
Regular visits give people a reason to get out, talk and build familiar connections. A welcoming meeting place for different ages and backgrounds can help reduce isolation and support wellbeing.
For councils, developers & estate owners
Community value while your wider plans take shape
A regular market can put otherwise unused land to work over successive years while development proposals progress. Trading areas and the length of agreement can be shaped around your wider plans.
Evidence behind community and meanwhile use
Research on traditional markets supports their role in affordability, enterprise and social connection. Studies of car boot sales also examine reuse and the communities formed through regular participation. These are sector findings, rather than measured outcomes for Capital’s venues. Any market use needs appropriate permissions; future development proposals are assessed separately.
- University of Leeds: evidence on affordability, enterprise and community value (opens in a new tab)
- University of Portsmouth: social participation at car boot sales (opens in a new tab)
- Car boot sales and reuse: a peer reviewed study (opens in a new tab)
- Greater London Authority: community and economic opportunities on development land (opens in a new tab)
Landowner enquiries
Discuss your site with Capital
Contact Capital Boot Sales about hosting a regular sale.
Tell us where your property is and how it is currently used so we can start a conversation about a regular sale.
What happens nextInitial discussion, site visit and a proposed trading programme with commercial terms.
info@capitalcarbootsales.co.ukPrefer a form? Send a site enquiry