Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. There’s no hiding from it: 50 per cent of West End spend comes from those who live and/or work in London and the majority of the office population is staying away until at least September. The remaining 50 per cent is made up of domestic and international visitors who either can’t get here at all or are favouring shopping locally for the moment. Even the recent relaxation of the two-metre social distancing rule appears to have done little to boost the fortunes of the West End.

While the one-metre plus rule should encourage more retailers to open and more visitors to come, there is a fear that it won’t be enough to stop some retailers that have survived the lockdown from reconsidering their options.

London may well be the last out of the mire, but history suggests that if and when there is a bounce back, the West End will lead the charge.

I have dealt with Oxford Street and Bond Street for over 20 years, and witnessed both progressive and, at times, rapid change. Through previous difficult times we have lost the likes of C&A, Mister Byrite, Barratts and Sock Shop, but these have been replaced by Microsoft, Dyson, Primark and Nike Town and most would agree that Oxford Street is all the better for it.

Over the last 10 years in particular, The Crown Estate has transformed Regent Street and all of the London estates have together contributed to making the West End a global retail and leisure destination.

The unique offer of Selfridges will continue to anchor the West End and if our world-leading theatres and entertainment venues can make it through these difficult times, we still have all the ingredients to bounce back.

With government support and the completion of planned infrastructure improvements, there is good reason to be hopeful that the West End can not only recover, but that it can attract more investment and cement its position as a world leading city centre destination.

Crossrail will arrive eventually, we will continue to see investment in traffic calming measures, and the City Plan and the relaxation of planning policy should encourage development of otherwise redundant space.

We undoubtedly face a challenging period in the short term, but there are measures that could provide a further boost when things start to return to normal.

New West End Company, which Savills works closely with, has issued a number of proposals to the Government that could provide an immediate and significant boost to West End spend. This includes extending tax-free shopping to visitors from the EU when the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December, as well as introducing Visa waivers to high net worth visitors.

Other measures, such as the relaxation of Sunday trading and a review of business taxes would also provide further stimulus in the medium to long term.

Collaboration between vested interests, including agents, owners, New West End Company, London First and Westminster City Council, to name but a few, had never been better pre-Covid-19 and as we begin to start the recovery process we need these partnerships to continue.  

Let’s hope that the momentum returns and the West End starts to see significant footfall return soon.

Further information

Contact Savills Retail