Walking around the old docklands of London, it can sometimes be surprising to think that this was once Britain's global commodity trading hub. The streets around St Katharine Docks and Wapping are quiet, even though they are a few minutes' walk from the tourist-laden Tower of London, and the only shops not turned into estate agents are empty.
There are many ghosts here: of the pirates hanged at execution dock, of the sailors and dock workers no longer required to fuel the country's prosperity. Of the 29 pubs that used to line Wapping Wall, only two remain. And the drink prices rival Mayfair.
Calling the docks the historic centre of trade is something of a misnomer. This is where the physical goods were hauled by labourers, stored in wharves and warehouses, and then delivered to buyers. But the real deals were made further inland in the City – at the exchanges, the coffeehouses and the taverns where merchants, factors, underwriters and company men got their news and made their trades.
The transfer from physical to remote trade follows the same journey of activity from the docks to the City. Walk 10 minutes inland, and you will find busy streets and pubs fit to bursting with city workers.
It's those coffeehouses that began the evolution of the City of London into a financial centre. This is where news of ships coming in would be heard first, where insurers underwrote voyages and where speculators bet on new ventures. Lloyd's of London started as John Lloyd's coffeehouse and the LSE formed out of several in Change Alley.
But why coffeehouses? Why not markets, or park benches, on the street or in homes? The puritanical alcohol ban during Cromwell's time gave them their start, but it was their pub-like informality that made them so popular. Warm places to rub shoulders with merchants, intellectuals and politicians.
Places where unplanned encounters created unexpected opportunities.
THE IRREPLACEABLE VALUE OF GETTING OUT THERE
Even today, outside of the office meeting room, the best deals are made over coffee or at the pub. We have more ways to connect than ever in history, but it's the face-to-face conversations that are still the most impactful. And there's a reason for that beyond mere nostalgia.
When you meet someone in person, you're forced to be present in a way that a video call simply can't replicate. You pick up on subtle cues, build genuine rapport, and create the kind of trust that becomes the foundation of long-term business relationships. There's also the element of risk – stepping out of your comfort zone, engaging with ideas that challenge your thinking, and having conversations that might take unexpected turns.
Cities thrive when they offer environments where people can take these kinds of risks with what they say and what they buy or sell. Without the need for people to meet each other face-to-face, these places die. Look at Bath, Venice, or parts of Cardiff – beautiful cities that have become museums rather than living, breathing centres of commerce. The docklands became irrelevant due to technological change. It could happen anywhere.
For London to remain relevant as a global financial centre, it has to keep offering these environments. It's not enough to have the infrastructure for electronic trading; you need the human infrastructure too. The informal networks, the chance encounters, the relationships built over shared experiences.
We have more people in our professional lives than ever before, which means if we want attention, we have to stay top of mind somehow. That's where consistent, coherent and authentic online activity builds the mental availability that makes it easier to get a meeting. But it's what happens when you finally meet that determines whether anything meaningful comes of it.
WHAT REPLACES THE COFFEEHOUSE ENVIRONMENT?
Cafés and coffee shops still exist today, and people still talk business over coffee. But that idea of the coffeehouse as a marketplace – where everyone was there to learn and to profit – has largely gone. So what replaces that kind of environment?
Events. They've become the temporary exchanges, the market day environments where buyers and sellers gather with a shared purpose. Like the business that set up a temporary pub for three days at an agricultural show, events create that concentrated energy and opportunity that used to exist in the coffeehouses.
Anyone can pay for a stall at a trade show and hope business comes to them. But the people really benefiting are the trade show organisers, while you get a few tenuous leads and hope for the best. The smart money is on creating your own marketplace – hosting your own seminar, conference or networking event where you control the environment, the messaging, and the audience.
That's why we're betting on proprietary events. When you create the environment rather than just showing up to someone else's, you're not just a vendor hoping for attention. You're the convener, the thought leader, the person people came to see. You're recreating that coffeehouse dynamic where deals get made because people are energised, engaged, and open to new opportunities.
Speaking of events, stay in the loop with our upcoming networking event calendar.
It takes courage to get out there, to invest in bringing people together, to put yourself and your ideas on display. But that's exactly what separates the businesses that thrive from those that simply survive. In a world where it's increasingly easy to hide behind screens, the companies willing to create real human connections will have the advantage.
Cities are competing for relevance in an age of remote work and digital everything. The ones that win will be those that offer the best environments for human interaction, for risk-taking, for the kind of serendipitous encounters that turn into breakthrough opportunities.
Remember: coffee is for closers. But more importantly, getting out of the house – and into the room – is for winners.
