05/10/2026
This Black History Month, we are celebrating a business history that is too often overlooked.
From Ignatius Sancho’s Westminster grocery shop in 1774 to D**e & Dryden’s £5 million hair and beauty business in Tottenham, Black entrepreneurs have helped build communities, industries and opportunities across Britain.
Many of these businesses began where mainstream support fell short: funded through pooled savings, built on trust, and sustained by people who saw needs that others ignored. Shops, salons, publishers, care providers and service businesses became far more than places to trade—they became community infrastructure.
Our latest article tells this story through the people, places and businesses that shaped it, while also looking honestly at the barriers Black business owners still face today, particularly around capital, procurement and access to professional advice.
Read the full story:
https://taxcare.org.uk/black-history-month-shop-counter-to-5-million-empire/