Melbourne Market Authority signs lease deal with Epping wholesale fresh food market

After months of tension between wholesalers and the operators at Melbourne’s fresh food wholesale market at Epping, a resolution has been reached. See the details.

Months of tension between the Melbourne Market Authority and tenants of the wholesale fresh food market at Epping appear to have eased, with the signing of new lease agreements for 17 wholesalers.

The relationship between the two has been marred by protests and anger since October, after the MMA planned to double the rent of wholesalers over the next decade.

The MMA even sought a Supreme Court declaration clarifying whether it could legally evict tenants who did not sign the new lease terms, but on Monday it was announced all 17 store tenants who had reached the end of their nine-year lease terms had signed new leases.

Peter Tuohey, Melbourne Market Authority chair. Picture: Supplied

Chair of the MMA Peter Tuohey said the company had been confident a resolution could be reached, but acknowledged it was a challenging period.

“We acted in good faith throughout, supporting a second valuation, offering multiple extensions and working closely with tenants and Fresh State to achieve a balanced outcome,” he said.

“The leases included several amendments to support tenants, including reduced bond, electricity savings and waiving back payments of increased rent between August 31, 2024 and February 24, 2025.”

The signed leases contain a rent increase of 23-38 per cent distributed evenly across the nine-year lease term.

The MMA said leases had been structured with a fixed 2.7 per cent to 3.6 per cent annual increase over the nine-year lease term, with an additional floating consumer price index component.

This is down from the initial proposed rent increase for wholesalers in October last year, of between 6.72 per cent and 7.6 per cent annually, for 10 years.

“This was a comprehensive rent review process, which included a revised valuation conducted by the Valuer-General. The valuation contemplated changes in the market conditions which resulted in a reduction to rental amounts,” Mr Tuohey said.

The resolution will establish a benchmark for the lease renewable process for approximately 100 additional tenancies in August, with Mr Tuohey expecting the process to run smoothly.

“For fairness and equity, the MMA will follow the same valuation process set out in the lease agreements for the August 2025 group,” he said.

Victoria’s Liberal-Nationals Coalition has flagged selling the market if elected in 2026.

Vendor representative Fresh State has been contacted for comment.