Why Bond Street is STILL in fashion
Luxury brands flock to London’s shopping hotspot
A ROOFTOP garden is set to bloom above the former Fenwick store on Bond Street, in a major sign of the revival rippling through this central London location.
As was revealed this week, US private equity giant Blackstone paid £230m for 130-134 New Bond Street, Mayfair.
The purchase of the building, in which Church’s the shoemaker and the watch companies Breitling and Audemars Piguet are based, highlights the mounting interest in acquiring premises on this boulevard of glittering brands in the heart of the West End.
‘Bond Street’s condition is improving,’ says Oli Creasy, head of property research at wealth manager Quilter Cheviot. ‘ Interest from shoppers, occupiers, and property investors is good – and growing.’
The closure in February of the Bond Street branch of the Fenwick chain was followed by the shuttering of the Mulberry and Smythson shops.
But top property consultancies say that the empty units are a sign not of decline, but of transition. Last week Westminster City Council gave the go-ahead for a ‘deep retrofit’ of the Fenwick building.
The redevelopment will create not only a garden in the heart of the West End but also offices and new retail units. The store’s Victorian facades will be retained.
The building’s owners, the Cypriot firm Lazari Investments, are employing the UK’s leading firm of architects, Foster Partners.
‘This ambitious project will act as a catalyst, injecting energy into this part of the city and underscoring the area’s global presence,’ explains its boss, Lord Norman Foster. The Elizabeth line at nearby Bond Street station is enhancing the allure of the formerly not-so-smart northern part of the street, making this a powerful retail destination.
As a result, the vacancy rate is 7pc, against 13.6pc in 2021 since when the average Bond Street rent has risen by 14.3pc, according to Savills data. Bond Street, a luxury haunt since the 18th century, is Europe’s second most expensive shopping street, with an annual average rent of £1,150 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The Via Monte Napoleone in Milan inches ahead with an average of £1,152. The average in the Champs Elysees in Paris is £877. Anthony Selwyn, the co- head of prime global retail at Savills, comments: ‘This is a very exciting time for Bond Street, with significant growth to come. The location is in better shape than ever, with a host of new openings for 2024.’ As Selwyn explains, the street is already home to such luxury heavyweights such as Gucci, Fendi, Loewe, Celine, Brunello Cucinelli, Versace, and Miu Miu. Soon to make its debut along this half-mile stretch of exclusive retail will be Moncler, maker of the £ 900 padded jacket, Jacquemus, the rich Generation X- er label and Carolina Herrera, the ultra-chic US line.
And Watches of Switzerland will be opening a three-storey Rolex megastore this coming summer.
These arrivals will be buoyed by the knowledge that Oxford Street is regaining its role as the nation’s High Street. The garish American confectionery stores that had sprung up are making an exit.
Taking their places are names such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Uniqlo.
James Brick of Kenningham Retail confirms that Bond Street remains a ‘phenomenal address in which elite brands wish to plant their flag’.
Transactions take longer because brands deliberate over every aspect of the lease, including the nature of adjacent stores. Brick says: ‘ They won’t just settle for any shop.’
Bond Street is a conservation area, filled with buildings of architectural merit and heritage, some of which appear on maps published in the 1790s, which means that planning consent can take time.
Brick says it is possible for more two years to elapse before the first inspection of a property by a prospective tenant and the inking of the deal. Luxury brand houses are looking for a deep and long-term relationship with the area.
‘On Oxford Street, the lease will be, say, ten years, with a break clause at the five-year point. On Bond Street, it’s 20 years,’ says Brick.
However, there is general agreement that the reinstatement of VAT-free shopping for tourists would speed the process of transformation.
The chancellor failed to refer to this ‘ tourist tax’ in his Budget in March, although additional revenues from its abolition would exceed VAT refunds by as much as £2bn, and an estimated £400m would be spent in stores, some of it in Bond Street, but also on other shopping streets.