Places for London prides itself on being a home where small businesses can thrive, and it is once again encouraging Londoners to discover the many small businesses providing great options for gifts, services, and leisure over the festive season. It manages more than 1,500 businesses, of which 95 per cent are small to medium enterprises.
Of all the businesses launched on the estate in 2025, small businesses comprised over 60 per cent. These include:
Bonnie Blooms – a boutique florist in Cockfosters
Barberholic – a modern barbershop in Edgware
Jamaica Patty – a Caribbean patty specialist in Farringdon
Joe Blakes – a speciality coffee and artisan bakehouse in Holborn
Celtic Coffee – an artisan coffee spot in West Acton
Across the capital, Places for London continues to unlock the full potential of its estate and is investing £300m to improve its existing estate over the next nine years – helping to give small businesses the best platform to succeed. As part of its Places for Growth initiative, Places for London is providing new incubator space in its Lockton Street Arches to give new local businesses space to develop and grow.
Recently, Places for London recognised some of the best performing businesses across its estate at its second Customer Conference, which was held at The Bike Shed in Shoreditch, another of the many small businesses on its estate.
This year's Small Biz 100, an annual celebration of 100 of the thousands of small businesses all over the UK includes BloomsYard, a café wine bar brand blending modern hospitality with convenience, located within the Places for London estate.
Samantha Bain-Mollison, Head of Retail at Places for London, said: "We are proud to be joining small and medium enterprises across the country in celebrating Small Business Saturday once again this year.
“We are dedicated to working with these type of businesses and love to help them succeed. This year, as with previous years, I look forward to seeing Londoners support the small business in their local areas by choosing to find new places to discover, things to do and places to go.”
Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, Howard Dawber, said: “More than half of all London’s jobs are in small businesses, and they are the backbone of our economy. Alongside the Mayor, I am proud to be a champion of our brilliant and innovative small and medium sized companies. As Londoners start their Christmas shopping in earnest, I’d encourage everyone to go and discover some of the excellent gifts and products on offer from small businesses in their local neighbourhood, as we continue building a better and more prosperous London for everyone."
