'The Del Boy effect' - Peckham is London's hub for entrepreneurs

Only Fools and Horses is one of the UK’s best-loved sitcoms. It first hit our screens in the early 80s and since then it has lived on as one of Britain’s top TV shows.

Its legacy extends beyond leopard print and iconic one-liners. The show has had a profound impact on the DNA of parts of London.

Recent data has revealed that Peckham - where the TV show is set - is the entrepreneurial capital of the Big Smoke due to what we’re coining ‘The Del Boy Effect’.

The research from GoDaddy has revealed that there was a 42% increase in the number of microbusinesses launched in Peckham over the last year.

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The findings come from Venture Forward, GoDaddy’s international research initiative that studies the economic impacts of small businesses and the attitudes of the owners who start and run them. The research analyses data from more than 600,000 microbusinesses in the UK, giving every constituency in the UK a ‘Microbusiness Density’ score – the number of microbusinesses per 100 people.

The research shows that Peckham’s microbusiness density has soared from 1.66 microbusinesses per 100 residents to 2.36 year-over-year.

As Del Boy was fond of saying, Peckham is ‘lovely jubbly’ for small businesses according to current entrepreneur.

Lydia Maxwell, 41, lives in Peckham and runs her sustainable dog walking business, DogBoxx, from the area.

Lydia started the company – which employs three staff and turns over five figures each year – in the summer of 2021 after losing her job as an English teacher during the global pandemic. Running DogBoxx is now Lydia’s full-time vocation, working five days a week with customers across Peckham and other parts of London.

Lydia, who was a fan of Only Fools and Horses when she was young, believes Del Boy’s entrepreneurial legacy lives on in the area.

She says: “One of the things I love most about Peckham is its diversity, and that’s reflected in the variety of small businesses in the community – we’ve got a great local independent hospitality scene, along with galleries, cheesemakers and a gin distillery. Rye Lane is a particular hotspot and there are new independent shops cropping up all the time. Everyone in Peckham is very supportive of local small businesses and our entrepreneurs. Del Boy would be very proud.”

Small businesses have ‘cushty’ benefits for communities

Andrew Gradon, UK market lead at GoDaddy, commented: “From Trotters’ Independent Traders to Boyce Autos & Car Accessories, Only Fools and Horses gave us some iconic – but fictional – small businesses and entrepreneurs at the heart of the Peckham economy.

“Now, as David Jason reaches the age of 85, we can see that the spirit of Del Boy lives on. The make-up of Peckham’s small businesses might have changed a bit – with products and services being sold through websites and social media platforms, rather than from a dodgy suitcase – but through entrepreneurs such as Lydia, the same qualities of innovation, determination and resilience are still there in abundance.”