Small businesses across Places for London’s great estate are gearing up for Small Business Saturday

Places for London, Transport for London’s wholly owned property company, is joining small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country in celebrating Small Business Saturday on 6 December 2025

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." 

Andrew Roberts, Chair of Jamaica Patty Co, said: “Our journey in London has been exciting. We have refined our property requirements over the years and have sourced our best performing sites from Places for London. The combination of  high footfall and proximity to major transport hubs that their estate offers is, in our experience, compelling and unique.  We’re opening our fifth and sixth shops on Places for London’s estate soon as part of our expansion plans, and they really do all they can to support small businesses in the capital”.  

Bharti Radix, Founder of BloomsYard, said: "I’m delighted to have been selected by Small Business Britain as one of the Top 100 Small Businesses in the UK, and I’m hoping that recognition helps us grow even more. It’s vital for small businesses to have a supportive and understanding landlord, and I know that Places for London at its heart wants to see small businesses across its estate thrive."

Fabrice & Angharad, Co-Founders of Pilates by Ang, said: "It’s great to see the value Places for London and Howard Dawber, Deputy Mayor for Business, put into small businesses in the capital. We’ve opened our first ever Reformer Pilates studio in the heart of White City and are thrilled to be welcoming Londoners to experience Pilates like never before."

To find out more about Places for London's estate - visit https://www.placesforlondon.co.uk/properties/retail-business-and-leisure