South West Londoner
The UK’s first social enterprise coffee roastery started out in 2015 as a tiny coffee shop in Peckham.
Now, Old Spike Roastery has moved to a bigger site and is responsible for employing 14 homeless people who have been taught at their training school.
Owner Richard Robinson said: “Social ethos is at the heart of everything we do.
“Helping people is a great thing to do, and it’s also a point of difference as a business.
“We need to expand the business in order to keep helping people, so the two go hand in hand.”
Half of Old Spike’s profits are donated to the training academy.
“There’s a real focus on employment,” Richard said.
Jobs include working in the cafe, assisting in coffee production and delivering coffee to all Old Spike’s wholesale customers.
EMILY GARBUTT 