Pedestrianised Oxford Street pulls in 500,000 shoppers

Up to £50m was spent in London’s West End stores on Saturday as 500,000 shoppers took advantage of a traffic-free Oxford Street.

Entertainment was provided in-store and on the street as buses, taxis and cars were barred between 12noon and 5pm. New West End Company said the shopping mecca benefited from the “staycation” trend – where Brits choose to holiday in the UK rather than abroad in order to save money.

New West End Company’s chief executive Richard Dickinson said: “We hope it will give Londoners and those from other parts of the UK a great reason to rediscover the West End – with its fantastic breadth of retail across 600 stores, great galleries, superb shows, restaurants for every pocket and much more besides.”

Record Number of Sales in April

In the month of April LDG saw a record number of flat sales in the West End in areas including Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury and Marylebone. Buyer enquiries are also increasing and trend looks to be continuing into May.