Mayor of London backs ‘love your local arches’ campaign to support independent businesses

10/08/2020

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has endorsed a campaign to encourage the public to use their local arch businesses throughout August and help small businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The #loveyourlocalarches campaign will culminate in an Arch Day on 29 August 2020. A collaboration between The Arch Company, Network Rail and Transport for London, it aims to increase the visibility of railway arch businesses within their communities and increase footfall to help thousands of small companies to recover from the pandemic and its impacts.

Recent Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) research suggests that more people than ever are keen to shop local, with 63p of every £1 spent in a small business remaining in the local economy. Many small businesses went the extra mile for their customers during lockdown, with 11 per cent of those that remained open introducing deliveries directly to their homes, and a further 15 per cent diversifying to offer new products and services.

Expressing his support for the campaign, the Mayor said: “London’s arches are home to a diverse and vibrant range of thousands of small businesses and community organisations. Often, they are the businesses and organisations that help our communities and local economies to thrive. Many have played an important role in keeping our city moving and key workers safe over the last few months while surviving on little to no income. Now, as London opens up again, it is vital that all of us show our appreciation and support for these businesses.”

Many small businesses operating out of railway arches in London have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, landlords like The Arch Company have provided multi-million-pound support packages to help as many of them as possible to survive.

For more information about the campaign visit our Arch Day page or follow the #loveyourlocalarches and #archday2020 activities on Twitter and Facebook @thearchcompany or Instagram @the_archcompany.