A PROPERTY investment firm has snapped up a historic Hampstead market in a sale rumoured to be worth around £2.5million.

The new owner of Hampstead Antiques and Crafts Emporium was revealed this week to be Safeland Plc, run by managing director Larry Lipman.

He met with Hampstead Town ward councillors this week days after the market, off Heath Street, was shut down and long-standing traders were told to leave. Liberal Democrat councillor Linda Chung said she hoped the sale would lead to a “new beginning” for the market – “if he [Mr Lipman] can see how willing the traders and the community are to make it a success”.

The emporium had been owned by Staplepine since 1982 and run by Richard Jaffe. He collected keys from traders on Saturday – but only after a lively protest which saw supporters and traders handcuffing themselves to the railings and chanting “Save the Emporium”.

Later they marched in a loop around Hampstead High Street and back to the market holding red balloons and placards.

The livelihoods of 20 traders has been put in jeopardy by the sale which was announced in the weeks before Christmas and in the cost of living crisis. The sale appears to have been cemented before the market was designated as an asset of community value by Camden Council on Thursday.

The emporium, on the corner of Heath Street and Perrin’s Court, is a former Victorian stables and has been trading as an antiques centre since at least 1967. The ACV, which gives a degree of protection of against future development, means that the “community” are offered the first right of refusal on any future sale.

A group of 21 people came together to bid for this protection, led by Alexandra Porter, who set up the petition and organised the protest. She said: “We will now try to raise the funds to save the market. We want to reach out to famous local residents and apply for funding. We are thinking of having a benefit evening. We saved the Heath 130 years ago, imagine what we could do now.”

Ms Porter said she hoped the ACV recog­nition would give the community time to raise funds to buy the market. Vinod Achan, a consultant cardiologist, took his son regularly to the emporium to buy clocks and had bought a placard saying “Save the Clocks”.

He said: “Lucas, who is 5, loves dismantling old clocks that have stopped working and over the years Alex has given or sold him – mostly given – many old clocks and watches. We will miss all of them very much if the emporium is closed forever.”

Dylan McNeil, who runs the puppet theatre in Well Walk, said without the market “the unique village atmosphere is in danger of disappearing”.

Conservative councillor Stephen Stark said: “We had a positive meeting with the new owners today [Tuesday] to learn more about their intentions for the Emporium. Their managing director was quite clear that they want to run it as a market but first they need to refurbish it and maximise the space.

“The Emporium will require a considerable amount of money to be spent on it.”

Mr Jaffe has told the New Journal that the decision was based on rising costs including energy bills but has not responded to requests for further comment beyond confirming the ACV listing decision.

Mr Lipman could not be reached by the New Journal.