FSP Retail Blog

Westfield is driving a coach and horses through talk of recession. The White City development in London is on course to open in October and is already 90% let. This development has a few advantages over others. Out of town retailing is apparently sliding, but this development is slap bang in the middle of London – indeed at 1.6m ft² it will be the biggest city centre retail destination in Europe. And London retail sales seem to be immune to the slump in the rest of the country, with the BRC recording like-for-likes in London at 8.7% up for the year to June. Finally, the Westfield centre at White City is very definitely targeted upmarket – the crunch feels more like a mere nibble when you’re comfortably cosseted in luxury!

Much of the benefit of retailing in London comes from tourists, especially the European ones who can use the euro exchange rate to their advantage. These tourists can fly in and reach their shopping destinations by public transport. Westfield has added to the anticipated ease of shopping in the White City development by funding a couple of tube stations!

What if your development is not so fortunate? FSP has the knowledge to help retail property developers and asset managers plan for the future and put their centre on the map

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Do you think London retail will suffer if the cut back on air travel hits other countries of the world, or do you think the increase in numbers of UK residence staying at home for holidays will balance it out?