A group of traders, residents and community organisers in south London named as the preferred buyer for Brixton Village and Market Row must now raise £50m within six months to buy the sites.

The Buy Back Brixton group said it had reached an agreement with the owners to complete the purchase within the agreed time limit after its bid competed against commercial developers.

The group has so far received £6.5m in pledges and crowdfunded more than £579,000.

A spokesperson for the current owners, TPG AG Real Estate and Hondo Enterprises, said they were "delighted" to name the group as the preferred buyer, and said it had a "compelling, mission-driven proposal for the market's future".

Buy Back Brixton, which comprises of the Brixton Traders and Community Association (BTCA) and Advocacy Academy, said it had been given eight weeks to complete due diligence and exchange contracts, and then up to a further four months to raise enough money to buy the sites.

The group said alongside fundraising, it would look to develop a community-led and democratic future for the markets.

The market was purchased for £37.25m by the current owners in 2018.

Campaigners said they hoped to raise the remaining funds through trusts and foundations, institutional funders, investors and public fundraising.

Kat Miles, founder and chair of the Brixton Traders and Community Association, said the announcement was a "huge step forward" for the community bid.

"Brixton Village and Market Row is the heart of our community. It is where people have built businesses, raised families, supported each other and created the culture that makes Brixton known across London and beyond," she said.

"This next phase gives us the chance to keep building a serious proposal for a market that is owned and run for the benefit of the community."

Akua Asiedua Asare-Loupalo Bi, trader at Shimirose and Secretary of Brixton Traders and Community Association, said the markets were "part of what makes Brixton, Brixton".

Another trader at Market Row, Gerald Vanderpuye, said people visited the markets for things they could not easily find elsewhere.

He said: "Ingredients from home, familiar flavours, advice, conversation, and traders who understand what they are looking for before they even ask - that is what makes this market Brixton's culture capital, and it is why this moment means so much.

"I have always believed Brixton could show the world something new: a community owning the ground it stands on and shaping its own future."

Saba Shafi, CEO of The Advocacy Academy, said the announcement was something to celebrate but not the finish line.

"We now have to raise the remaining funds, progress contracting and complete the purchase," she said.

"We need institutions, funders and values-aligned investors willing to move with urgency and help build a landmark model of community ownership."

Meera Ghanshamdas, co-director of Round Table Books CIC and deputy chair of Brixton Traders and Community Association, added: "If we want a market that belongs to Brixton, we now have to finish the job."

A spokesperson for TPG AG Real Estate and Hondo Enterprises said they would "continue to work constructively" with BTCA and Advocacy Academy during the process.