Bond Street: Status Of UK’s Most Exclusive Shopping Street Under Threat

The status of Bond Street as the UK’s most exclusive shopping destination is under threat, as one in four retailers on the famous street consider shutting up shop and moving out as a result of high rents and business rates. About 25 of the 100 top fashion brands with stores on Old and New Bond Street are understood to have flagged to the property market that they are ready to quit the world-famous fashion district. Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss, De Beers and DKNY are among the big brands understood to be considering their options. Bond Street is the most expensive place in Britain to run a store, with fashion brands paying top dollar to be located alongside the biggest names in luxury including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior and Hermès. Many shops have decided to leave despite the surge in well-heeled tourists shopping in the capital since the Brexit vote, which slashed the value of the pound and overnight made London cheaper for foreign tourists. Paul Souber, of property consultancy Colliers International, said a number of Bond Street leases were being “quietly marketed”. In a sign that demand for expensive stores in the West End of London is faltering, Souber said potential tenants are no longer required to stump up millions of pounds of “key money” that had become standard – the premium a brand hands over to the existing retailer to buy their lease, in addition to the rent agreed. In 2014, Watches of Switzerland sold its Bond Street lease for £10m. Read more at The Guardian.