Westminster
This coverage examines the retail environment and commercial developments in Westminster, highlighting store openings, closures, local economic influences, planning decisions, and regeneration projects that impact the area. Reporting is tailored for retail professionals overseeing operations, property, and strategy in one of London’s most prominent retail and business districts.
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Jul- 2021 -28 JulyFeatures
What would protective shopworkers’ legislation mean?
“I’ve been sworn at, spat at and had a knife pulled on me all in the last 10 months,” says a shop worker responding to the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) 2020 survey. This response is just one of many negative reports experienced by workers across the…
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23 JulyHigh Street
Ted Baker moves HQ to Fitzrovia
Ted Baker has announced plans to move to a new headquarters in central London. The fashion brand has signed a 10-year lease with Westminster City Council, with rent of £900,000 and plans to move to the new building in Fitzrovia, London next summer. The move will allow the group to…
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Jun- 2021 -17 JuneHigh Street
Oxford Circus to be transformed into ‘pedestrian piazzas’
Oxford Circus will be transformed into two, “pedestrian-friendly piazzas” as part of plans unveiled by Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate to revive Oxford Street and the wider district. The organisations said that work will begin on the area later this year, with the reconstruction set to provide “significant…
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Mar- 2021 -15 MarchHigh Street
Oxford Street kicks off £150m regeneration plan
Westminster City Council has launched its “ambitious” £150m plans to renovate Oxford Street, beginning with a series of temporary interventions to encourage higher footfall after lockdown. The initial interventions aim to boost footfall and support businesses in the area, and will be closely followed by council-led projects that will “permanently…
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Feb- 2021 -17 FebruaryHigh Street
Westminster Council launches Oxford Street revival initiative
An “ambitious” new framework has been launched by Westminster City Council in a bid to kickstart a “reimagined” Oxford Street and revive the wider district, in order to attract more shoppers to the area post-lockdown. The new Oxford Street District (OSD) framework, developed with key strategic partners, will reportedly deliver…
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Feb- 2020 -11 FebruaryAnalysis
Yes, the trade barriers are coming
I think both Leavers and Remainers probably expected this in the long run – Michael Gove announced yesterday that businesses should “accept” that frictionless trade with the EU will be impossible whatever agreement is finally reached by the deadline of 31 December this year. This is the cost, he says,…
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Jan- 2020 -16 JanuaryAnalysis
How in-store experiences will shape gaming retail in 2020 and beyond
A little over a year ago the Entertainment Retailer Association (ERA) announced that the gaming market accounted for more than half of the entire UK entertainment sector at more than £3.8bn, making it bigger than video and music combined. The top games released that year included FIFA 2019, Red Dead…
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Oct- 2019 -31 OctoberEconomy
Consumer confidence drops further in October
Gfk’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index decreased two points to -14 in October. The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months decreased by one point during month to -33, five points lower than in October 2018. Expectations for the general economic situation over the…
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Sep- 2019 -23 SeptemberHigh Street
Bailiffs visit 310 premises a day over business rates, study finds
Councils across England are sending bailiffs to 310 companies a day over business rates arrears, new figures show. The investigation by the real estate adviser Altus Group revealed that, during the last financial year, for 2018/19, over 78,000 non-domestic properties from shops to restaurants to pubs to factories to offices…
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Apr- 2019 -30 AprilEconomy
Consumer confidence remains negative in April
Consumer confidence remained at its level of -13 in April according to GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index. Two measures increased and three saw a decrease during the month. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last 12 months has decreased this month to -1; this is the same as…
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