Home Commercial PropertyForget Oxford Street. Meet the next generation of hot London shopping streets

Forget Oxford Street. Meet the next generation of hot London shopping streets

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12th Nov 13 9:39 am

The new London high streets set to entice the style-savvy and property-prolific

Thereโ€™s no doubting the pulling power of Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street. These streets are synonymous with shopping in London, but for retailers, a shop on one of these streets comes with a hefty price tag.

Prime Zone A rents rose by an average of 3.1% over the third quarter of the year, according to property agent Savills, while Zone A rent rates on Oxford Street are close to ยฃ800, thanks to soaring demand from UK and international brands.

As a result, thereโ€™s little availability around these hotspots โ€“ Savills notes that both Bond Street and Regent Street have zero vacancy. This increasingly leaves retailers to scout out alternative parts of the capital to open up shop, according to Planet Retail senior retail analyst Isabel Cavill. ย And if the brand is more on the niche side, the de rigueur is to find a unique location.

So where will Londoners be spending their hard-earned cash in the future? We hunt down the capitalโ€™s next cluster of shopping destinations.

Lambโ€™s Conduit Street, Bloomsburyย 

Come shopping here for: Cool menswear brands.

Key sign itโ€™s on the rise: Retail interest in the street has quadrupled since J Crew signed on the dotted line, according to James Ebel, director at property agent Harper Dennis Hobbs.

Big names moving here: Smoking hot J Crew. Footwear label Grenson has just signed for a store.

Lambโ€™s Conduit Street has been the talk of the town since hotly anticipated US fashion retailer J Crew, favoured by Michelle Obama, chose the area as its launchpad into Europe last month (October).

But out of all the streets in London, why Lambโ€™s Conduit Street?

James Ebel, director at property agent Harper Dennis Hobbs, which acted for J Crew, says the retailer wanted a location that was โ€œahead of curve, cool and edgyโ€ and not fully established as a retail destination.

Lambโ€™s Conduit Street is a far cry from your typical homogenous high street thanks to its collection of British menswear brands such as Private White VC, Oliver Spencer and Folk Clothing.

Property experts agree that more niche brands are expected to flock to this edgy central London destination.

With average rents ranging from ยฃ30,000 to ยฃ50,000 per annum, Ebel says the location is still affordable for a small brand.

โ€œWeโ€™ve not seen a spike yet, which is why we chose that location,โ€ he says. โ€œItโ€™s early enough in its development that deals are still to be had.โ€

The J Crew store

The J Crew store on Lambโ€™s Conduit Street, Bloomsbury

St Jamesโ€™s Gateway,ย Piccadillyย 

Come shopping here for: Premium contemporary fashion.ย 

Key sign itโ€™s on the rise: Barbour has launched its first store dedicated to motorcycle clothing here. Crown Estate is pumping ยฃ500m into the area.ย 

Big names moving here: Barbour and Sunspel have just opened shops here. ย 

If the masterminds behind the transformation of Regent Street are working their retail magic on Piccadilly, you can hedge your bets that their ยฃ500m revamp of the area will be heralded as another retail success story.

As part of their plans, The Crown Estate is developing St Jamesโ€™s Gateway, a 100,000-sq-ft development located between Piccadilly Circus and Jermyn Street.

Itโ€™s already considered a magnet, having signed several retail deals in the last few months, including contemporary menswear brand Tiger of Sweden and heritage brand Barbour. Shop rents are thought to range from ยฃ150 to ยฃ220 per sq ft.

Barbourโ€™s UK sales and marketing director Ian Beattie says the storeโ€™s close proximity to Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street meant it was a โ€œperfect locationโ€ for the brand.

Anthea Harries, St Jamesโ€™s portfolio manager, says that the plan for St Jamesโ€™s is to refine the area and preserve its heritage, and that over the next 10 years it will offer 50,000 sq ft of retail space.

Hyland says with the level of investment The Crown Estate is ploughing into the area, Piccadilly will be heralded as one of Londonโ€™s key new retail hubs.

Berwick Street, Soho

Come shopping here for: Good quality clothing for the style-conscious man.ย 

Key sign itโ€™s on the rise: Cushman & Wakefieldโ€™s Hyland says a number of โ€œinteresting fashion brandsโ€ have been looking at the street.

Big names moving here: Recent additions Nudie Jeans and Universal Works.

Berwick Street has always been regarded as a special shopping destination peppered with record stores, fabric shops and haberdasheries.

But Sohoโ€™s iconic street is enjoying a resurgence, with cool brands scouring the area to open up stores, according to Samantha Bain-Mollison, head of retail strategy at Berwick Street landlord Shaftesbury.

However, she signals thereโ€™ll be no high-street chains anytime soon. โ€œWe would like to retain Berwick Streetโ€™s character whilst introducing a select few handpicked brands, but itโ€™s important that these have a point of difference.โ€

Similar to Lambโ€™s Conduit Street, menswear brands are starting to trickle in. Organic denim brand Nudie Jeans opened its doors here in May, followed by stylish menswear brand Universal Works in August.

Berwick Street, Soho

Shoreditch, East London

Come shopping here for: Line your bike basket with a mish-mash of products from funky one-off designs to a pair of sneakers.

Key sign itโ€™s on the rise: Investment, investment, investment. Old Spitalfields Market was acquired earlier this year by an American group for ยฃ105m while a regeneration project on Shoreditch Village will open in 2015.

Big names moving here: Cowshedโ€™s โ€œnaughty little sisterโ€ line, Cheeky, has just opened here.

Property experts say thereโ€™s a growing number of retailers sniffing around the capitalโ€™s most creative neighbourhood, as retail rents remain lower than central London. ย 

One part of East London thatโ€™s set to undergo a shake-up in the next year is the historic Old Spitalfields Market, since New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation snapped it up for ยฃ105m earlier this year. Experts believe this will pave the way for a major retail development.

Matt Hyland, partner at property firm Cushman & Wakefieldโ€™s retail team,ย says: โ€œThe new owners wonโ€™t completely change the tenant mix overnight but their long-term vision is to improve it.โ€

However, he adds that it wonโ€™t turn into your typical high street. โ€œTheyโ€™ll be very selective in terms of which brands theyโ€™ll bring in as theyโ€™ve got to retain that East London vibe.โ€

The Redchurch Street side of Shoreditch is expected to see more retail openings in the next few years, following on from the success of Boxpark, a nearby temporary shopping mall created from shipping containers.

Watch out for a new wave of retailers after Hackney Borough Council recently gave the green light for a 150,000-sq-ft mixed-use regeneration project on Shoreditch Village.

Leasing agent RK Retail Consultancy is hoping to lure in aspirational brands to fit in with the areaโ€™s hip character.

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