Westminster calls for landlords to end Oxford Street candy shop leases

Westminster City Council is taking its campaign against US-style candy and souvenir stores further by appealing directly to freeholders and long leaseholders to oust any tawdry tenants from their buildings.

Leader of Westminster City Council, Cllr Adam Hug, has written to 19 major property groups, whose properties house 26 US sweet stores or souvenir shops along Oxford Street. Six have already vowed to act, serving notice on tenants or bringing in different retailers.

Cllr Hug said: “The buzz is back in the West End, and with attractive high-end retailers queuing up to return to Oxford Street, it feels like an auspicious moment to call time on the tawdry tat shops that have brought down the tone. We hope to work positively with all the freeholders on Oxford Street and rid the area of rip-off retailers once and for all.”

“This damaging situation has gone on long enough, and we are asking you to do all that you can to bring it to an end. [..] We are considering all options available to us to ensure that those enabling these businesses to thrive selling unsafe goods and destroying our high streets are persuaded to address this issue in whatever way they can.”

During lockdown, US-style candy and souvenir stores appeared in shop voids along Oxford Street. A number of those stores have been at the centre of investigations around unpaid business rates and the sale of illegal and unsafe goods.

There are currently 26 sweet and souvenir shops on Oxford Street which collectively owe around £9m in unpaid business arrears. The council has recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in arrears through court action, but the often secretive ownership structure of the sweet store and souvenir shop owners frustrates that effort.

Trading standards officers also routinely raid the candy and souvenir shops to seize unsafe and illegal goods. In the past 15 months, repeated raids have impounded £1m in goods, ranging from vapes many times the UK legal limit in strength to counterfeit designer brands. In one case, the council seized more than 2,000 fake Wonka bars – retailing at around £8, despite having a unit cost of 43p each.

Westminster City Council has also led lobbying efforts to strengthen the Economic Crime Bill and ensure it provides sufficient support for the National Crime Agency and HMRC to tackle what are thought to be wider and overseas criminal activities linked to some of the sweet and souvenir shops. One issue of particular concern to the council is the fact a company can be set up at Companies House with fewer checks than needed to take out a local authority library lending card.

Mary Patel, networks manager from the Fair Tax Foundation, said: “Business rate and other tax evasion makes it harder for businesses that pay their fair share to compete on a level playing field, and deprives communities of funding for vital public services. Westminster City Council should be commended for pioneering the fight against dirty money, and for fair tax, in their local area. We stand with the council in calling for robust identity verification for anyone registering a UK company, and better resourcing for Companies House.”