London is preparing to pedestrianise Oxford Street, one of the world's most famous shopping streets, with a half-mile stretch closed to traffic on Monday. Mayor Sadiq Khan calls it "our nation's high street." The closure, between Selfridges and Ikea, is part of a long-term £150mn plan to build public spaces capable of hosting promotional events, aiming to compete with New York's Fifth Avenue, Rome's Via del Corso and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The revamp follows a difficult decade. The collapse of department stores Debenhams and House of Fraser was followed by the coronavirus pandemic, and vacancies rose to 13.7 per cent in 2022. Rents on the western part of the street fell from an average of £1,100 per sq foot in 2016 to just £600 during the pandemic, according to property agents Savills. Landlords responded with discounts and rent-free periods, which brought a surfeit of souvenir and candy shops and deepened the sense of decline.
Confidence is now returning. Old department store sites have been redeveloped with more office space, and a new local development corporation has been set up to speed up planning. Retailers are investing heavily, with Chinese lifestyle brands Miniso and Pop Mart joining Zara, Nike and Warner Bros. Savills recorded 39 deals in the past year, and vacancy rates have dropped below 1 per cent.
Challenges remain. The closure has drawn criticism from residents and commuters facing changed transport routes, and footfall has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Still, the opening of the Elizabeth Line, which has cut journey times from eastern and western suburbs, is helping draw shoppers back, while rents on the western side, at £850 per sq foot, remain more than 20 per cent below their 2016 peak.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing