Who Is Montgomery? Four Generations of Quality, Provenance and History at New Spitalfields
If you have bought fresh produce from a London food hall, a farm shop on the edge of the capital or an independent greengrocer, there is a good chance some of it passed across the floor of New Spitalfields Market before most of the city was awake. Montgomery is one of the family businesses that trades there, and we have done so since the day the market opened.
This is a short introduction to who we are, where we come from and why quality and provenance sit at the heart of every buying decision we make.
Our history: from a small stall to a trusted wholesale partner
Montgomery was founded in 1981 as a family-run fruit and veg supplier. What began as a small stall serving local caterers has grown into a wholesale partner trusted by London restaurants, food halls and independent retailers.
When New Spitalfields Market opened in Leyton in 1991, Montgomery was there from the start, and we have traded on the same market floor ever since. More than three decades in one place means supplier relationships that have taken years to build and a detailed understanding of how produce moves through the seasons.
Today, Montgomery is a fourth-generation family business. Each generation has carried forward the same things: an early start, a sharp eye for produce, and long-standing relationships with the growers and importers who supply us. The way we work has modernised, with an online ordering portal and next-day delivery, but the fundamentals have not changed. We are still in the market before dawn, choosing the best of what has arrived overnight.
Our home: New Spitalfields Market
To understand Montgomery, it helps to understand where we work.
New Spitalfields Market is a 31-acre wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in Leyton, East London, owned and run by the City of London Corporation. It opened in May 1991, purpose-built to replace the original Spitalfields site near Bishopsgate, where traders had worked in increasingly congested conditions.
It is the UK’s highest turnover horticultural market, home to around 115 traders offering more than 15,000 products from over 100 countries of origin. Long-established family firms trade alongside specialists in produce from across the world, which gives buyers a breadth of range that is very hard to match anywhere else.
New Spitalfields is trade-only and not open to the public. For most food businesses, the practical way to buy from it is through an established wholesaler with a presence on the market floor. That is the role Montgomery plays: we buy on our customers’ behalf, select and grade the stock, and deliver it to their door.
Quality without compromise
Quality at Montgomery starts with selection. We hand-select fruit and vegetables from trusted UK growers and global importers, and every item is chosen for its freshness, flavour and consistency.
In practice, that means checking for the qualities that matter for each line:
- Strawberries are selected for fruit size, colour, firmness and shelf life, and we offer both Class I fruit for premium displays and Class II for high-volume retail.
- Potatoes are chosen for consistent sizing, good skin condition and the right dry matter content for the variety.
- Tomatoes, from round and vine to cherry, plum and heritage varieties, are chosen for freshness, consistent sizing and presentation.
Timing matters just as much as selection. Trading at New Spitalfields begins before dawn, and the first buyers on the floor see the full range at its best. The market’s cold storage rooms, ripening rooms and palletised racking mean produce can be held at the right temperature and ripeness between purchase and delivery, with less handling and less bruising along the way.
Our customers notice the difference. Les Mulato, co-founder of Fruit 4 London, describes our produce quality as exceptional and always meeting expectations. Jamie Smith, founder of Jamie’s Fruit & Veg, calls us “the best on the market.”
Provenance: knowing where your produce comes from
Provenance matters to us. Every piece of produce we supply is chosen not only for its quality and freshness, but for the story behind where it comes from.
Our approach is simple: British first when it is in season, and trusted importers from established growing regions when it is not. A few examples show how that works across the year:
- Strawberries. British strawberries are at their best from late May to September, peaking in June and July. During that window we prioritise UK-grown fruit, including varieties such as Elsanta and Malling Centenary. Outside the British season, we source from established importers in Spain, Morocco and Egypt.
- Tomatoes. UK-grown tomatoes run from late spring to early autumn, with peak season from June to September, when we prioritise British-grown varieties. Outside the domestic season, supply comes from importers in Spain, the Netherlands and Morocco. Heritage varieties have a shorter seasonal window.
- Potatoes. Maincrop varieties such as Maris Piper, King Edward and Rooster come from the UK harvest and are available year-round. Jersey Royals arrive for a short window each year, new potatoes are supplemented by imports from Egypt and Cyprus out of season, and sweet potatoes are sourced primarily from the United States and Egypt.
The same thinking runs through our market highlights, from English asparagus to Italian tomatoes and Dutch aubergines. Knowing the origin of each line, and when each region is at its best, is what allows us to plan ahead and advise customers on what is worth buying now.
Provenance also connects to responsibility. We work closely with growers who prioritise responsible farming practices, and we aim to reduce unnecessary food miles wherever possible. Buying seasonally is better for flavour, and it is kinder to the planet too.
Who we supply
Montgomery supplies a wide range of trade customers, including:
- Food halls and upscale grocery stores
- Independent farm shops
- Greengrocers and specialty food retailers
- Restaurants and catering businesses
- Processors
Our trading partners include Fruit 4 London, Jamie’s Fruit & Veg, The Manor Farm Shop in Chelmsford, Calcott Hall Farm Shop and Norfolk Produce, among others.
Customers can collect from our New Spitalfields base or use our next-day delivery service, which covers London and the surrounding regions. Orders can be placed through our online trade portal, by phone, by WhatsApp or by email.
Delivery across London and beyond
Orders are picked with care and delivered next day across London.
- 0 to 10 miles – £50 delivery charge on orders under £1000
- 0 to 10 miles – £0 delivery charge on orders over £1000
- 10 – 20 miles – £80 delivery charge on orders under £1200
- 10 – 20 miles – £0 delivery charge on orders over £1200
- 20+ miles – available on request, so please get in touch and we will do our best to accommodate you (we can deliver up to 200 miles)
- On all orders there is a minimum spend of £500
Work with Montgomery
Whether you run a food hall, a farm shop or a restaurant kitchen, Montgomery brings four generations of buying experience, daily presence on the market floor and a clear commitment to quality and provenance. Create a trade account to explore our full range, or get in touch with our team to discuss your sourcing needs.
Getting Started
Setting up is straightforward. Create an account to explore the full range, or contact the team to talk through
your specific sourcing needs, your delivery window and the specs you want us to buy to.
Phone: 020 3833 9174
WhatsApp: 020 3833 9174
Email: orders@montgomeryswholesaler.co.uk
Sign up to the Montgomery Wholesale mailing list.
Montgomery was founded in 1981 and is now a fourth-generation family business.
We are based at New Spitalfields Market in Leyton, East London, where we have traded since the market opened in 1991.
We source from trusted UK growers when produce is in season, and from established importers in regions such as Spain, the Netherlands, Morocco and Egypt to keep supply consistent year-round.
