Could the eastern end of Oxford Street revitalise West End retail?
Vacancy levels on East Oxford Street are close to reaching pre-pandemic levels as a host of new deals from international brands has helped breathe new life into the iconic London shopping district.
While vacancy rates on east Oxford Street stayed the same as last quarter, sitting at 4.3 per cent, there are currently three sites under offer and once they are finalised the figure will fall to 1.1 per cent.
This is close to pre-pandemic levels of one per cent. This is in comparison to the western end of Oxford Street where the vacancy rate is down to 9.4 per cent from 15 per cent last quarter.
Oxford Street is effectively cut into two by property companies – the eastern end, from Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road, and west, from Oxford Circus to Marble Arch,
Over the past year, 11 new brands including Footasylum and Pandora have opened stores in the eastern area of the retail drag with experts at Savills telling City A.M that the new Elizabeth line and return of office workers have helped boost footfall to the region.
The eastern trunk is also set to be boosted by Ikea’s new store which is set to open next year in the former Topshop site.
By contrast there remains concern over the future of the western side, with a host of former department stores including Debenhams and House of Fraser still yet to be overhauled.
Alan Spencer, who leads the retail team at Savills, on east Oxford Street, said: “Oxford Street is back and it is going to be the back again as the leading high street in Europe.”
“Footfall is coming back, the spend is back and the consumer is going to be seeing lots of very exciting new brands.”
Spencer also said that a host of new hotels which have opened in central London recently is also a good signal that tourists have a renewed interest in the capital.
Earlier this year, luxury Singaporean hotel chain Raffles opened a new hotel at Whitehall and The Mandarin Oriental opened a new site on the expensive Mayfair strip.
News of a resurgence comes as efforts have been made by Westminster City Council to drive out illicit American Candy Stores which moved in during the pandemic when retailers were forced to close due to lockdown laws.
Earlier this year, the council said it would make shops vacated by illicit candy stores, which have blighted the leading retail destination, available to small business owners rent free and lower their business rates by 70 per cent.
The street has also suffered from the changing habits of customers post-pandemic with many switching to online shopping.
Spencer however remains hopeful about the future of the entire strip, saying that developers in the area have a “vested interest in London.”
He said: “Most of those developments are being carried out by landlords that are London landlords and have a vested interest in London.”
“You have got Derwent and Great Portland Estate in the East and as you move west you have Hines.”
“These are all landlords that have ownership elsewhere in Oxford Street. So they have an interest in making sure they get the right retailers to take that space.”