London has always been a top location for art galleries, but we have recently seen an increase in new international galleries making their London debut, with a total of eight new international galleries opening since 2011. Of these, seven have located in Mayfair, including Almine Rech on Savile Row and Dominque Levy on Old Bond Street, both of which opened their first London outposts in 2014.

The drivers for international galleries to set up in Mayfair are similar to those that attract international fashion brands, such as the global luxury status of the area and its concentration of five-star hotels. Furthermore, London is a gateway to other European markets, sitting in the ideal spot between the US and Asia Pacific markets.

US galleries have accounted for the largest share of new entrants to London, with six opening since 2011. Most recently US gallery Gagosian opened its largest London gallery in Mayfair's Grosvenor Hill with circa 18,000 sq ft (1,672 sq m) of space adding to its two existing London sites.

Interestingly, new entrants are looking for opportunities beyond the traditional Mayfair gallery heartland of Cork Street and Burlington Gardens. This is partly due to lack of availability, but is also largely being driven by a desire to create capacious and unique spaces similar to those seen in New York has which has led them to looking at alternative spaces.

These alternative spaces have included office conversions, as was the case with Gagosian on Grosvenor Hill and Philips on Berkeley Square. The latter saw ground and first-floor offices converted into a double-height exhibition space of 9,300 sq ft (864 sq m).

We have identified five other major galleries with international sites who are not yet in London. Considering the majority of new entrants to date have located in Mayfair, we expect any additional new entrants to have a preference for a Mayfair address – subject to the right type of space being available.

Further information

Contact Savills Retail & Leisure