About Peckham Palms

More Than A Space, A Movement

Our mission is to safeguard salon shops and community businesses in Peckham by supporting business ventures led by Black women, who too often experience barriers in getting finance and securing commercial lettings. We want to create more diversity and equality in our business community, and to ensure Black-led businesses share in the growth of Peckham. With food, coffee, hair stylists and events to enjoy, everyone is welcome to enjoy The Palms and meet the businesses who call it home.

Our Big Idea

Social Shops

Peckham Palms is building a new kind of commercial landlord: a social commercial landlord. We believe the shops, salons and kitchens that give a high street its character should not be priced out of the neighbourhood they helped build. This is of particular importance to racialised and working class communities, who are often displaced when an area gentrifies.

Affordable rent by design
Rents are set to keep independent, community rooted businesses trading, not to chase the maximum the market will bear, and to cover the costs of operating and managing the space.
Ethical space management
We manage the space by trying to understand and empathise with our tenants needs and lives. In recent years we have secured grants to help their businesses and we run a booking system for those who need it.
A model that can travel
Social Shops is a template other places can use: community owned commercial space that anchors local traders as an area grows, so the people already there share in that growth.

Our History

How The Palms Began

The Palms at Peckham was initiated by Southwark Council to create a purpose-built home for the micro-business community that has long shaped the high streets around Rye Lane, especially Blenheim Grove, known for its concentration of Black female-owned businesses. The original ambition was to convert several garages, yet under the co-founders' leadership and following extensive consultation the project grew with more ambition, a bigger building and a clear founding purpose. As we like to say, we took a negative situation and turned it into a positive mission and vision.

Following a successful bid by the artists Something & Son, the Peckham Palms organisation was established to manage the Southwark-owned site, working with contractors Jerram Falkus, architects Llandolt Brown and architect Farouk Agora.

From the outset the aim was a board led predominantly by local Black female creative entrepreneurs, with the goal of majority Black ownership. The founding board brought together Paul Smyth of Something & Son, culture curator Cyndi Anafo and former site manager Monique Tomlinson, alongside community engagement specialists Tree Shepherd, Hazel Durrant, and Sara Shipley of on-site café Mae J's.

Ownership & Governance

Who Owns The Palms

Peckham Palms is home to many Black and female owned businesses who make up its tenant community. Our building is under public ownership of Southwark Council and it is operated by us, Peckham Palms, the team who founded it, designed its founding vision and brought it to life.

Our company is majority Black female owned with our cofounder Cyndi Anafo being the majority owner. Majority Black ownership happened in 2022 following the cofounder and co-owner Paul Smyth of Something & Son Communities passing 60% of the company's shares to Cyndi to transform the company's ownership. The ownership transfer was only done at the point where Peckham Palms had reached its goal of becoming financially sustainable, completing the first stage in its journey. This completed a process set out in the Palms founding documents to see through our cofounders' shared belief that Black ownership matters in communities.

The Palms also has social impact objects in our company articles which shape how our company operates, providing a balance between impact and commercial drivers. We are proud to have a majority Black women on our Board, making sure that the people driving our strategy understand the Black hair industry, our customers and tenants.

The People Behind It

Our Team

Cyndi Anafo

Co-Founder & Director

Raised in South London by a shopkeeper and entrepreneur mother, Cyndi Anafo has spent her career building businesses and cultural spaces rooted in community. She met Paul Smyth at a community consultation event and from the beginning helped shape Peckham Palms as co-founder and Director, turning a threatened garage site into a purpose-built home for Black female business and culture. She traded at markets, co-owned the Black-led lifestyle store United80, and helped run the Snugg Bar in Brixton Village until 2014. Cyndi founded the Reclaim Brixton anti-gentrification campaign, which brought 3,500 people to a peaceful protest at Windrush Square. Under the name Handson Family she is also a successful DJ and promoter, working internationally, with a large online following engaged in her political, social and music commentary. Her blend of retail experience, entrepreneurial drive and commitment to local culture makes her a powerful advocate for The Palms and the Black women who run businesses there.

Paul Smyth

Co-Founder & Director

Paul Smyth is a social entrepreneur, artist and co-founder of Peckham Palms. He founded The Palms through Something & Son, the social arts practice he co-owns. As part of the duo's work, they have created locally led ownership models and community spaces. With Cyndi Anafo and the founding team, he helped turn empty garages into a mission-driven home for Black female business and culture. Since 2024, Paul has been independent as a Director of The Palms, continuing to shape its future alongside Cyndi as fellow co-founder and director. Paul is also co-founder and Director of Mission Kitchen and Makerversity, workspaces which support specialist types of work. Through Something & Son he has exhibited at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Somerset House and the V&A as a visual artist. He has lived in South London for 22 years and is committed to building enterprises accountable to the neighbourhoods they serve.

FRG

Farrah Riley Gray

Manager

Farrah Riley Gray is the Manager of Peckham Palms and an award-winning artist with over 10 years of experience working with marginalised communities and young people. Her artistic practice explores hair, discrimination and Black diaspora communities, shaped by her working class South London roots. She has worked and volunteered with organisations including Peckham Platform, Horniman Museum, Lewisham Donation Hub and Peckham and Nunhead Free Film Festival. Farrah has given talks at the Centre for Feminist Research and Goldsmiths University, and exhibited or held workshops at Somerset House, Wellcome Collection, Craft Council and more. A former member of Part-Time Collective, she brings creativity, care and deep community insight to managing The Palms.

Jan Asante

Non Exec Director

Jan Asante is a designer, writer, curator and Non Executive Director at Peckham Palms. She is co-editor of the Black Film Bulletin in BFI Sight and Sound Magazine and founder of Think Cinematic. Her film and television projects include Boss Ladies for BBC Inside Cinema, Black Hollywood: They've Gotta Have Us for BBC, Netflix and ARRAY, and Black Is The New Black for BBC and Iconoclast. Jan also served as managing director of the bespoke style atelier Gisella on Peckham High Street for over 25 years. Her insight into design, retail and creative culture has supported collaborations with institutions from the V&A to London Design Festival, bringing valuable experience to The Palms board.