Capital's high streets buck recession with an increase in sales

Retail sales in London jumped last month as the capital shrugged off the recession blighting high streets elsewhere in Britain.

The British Retail Consortium today said sales in London in February were 5.9 per cent higher than they were a year ago compared with a 1.8per cent decline across the country.

London stores benefited from European shoppers taking advantage of the weak pound as well as half-term visitors from elsewhere in the UK, although sales were held back in the first week of the month after heavy snow disrupted transport.

"London is proving slightly more resilient to recession than other parts of the UK," said BRC director general Stephen Robertson.

"Despite the recession and a poor start to February due to extreme snow the capital's retail sales outperformed the rest of the UK.

"London retailers benefited as the weak pound made shopping here more attractive for overseas visitors - especially those from eurozone countries.

"Half-term also helped. More families opted to stay at home this year rather than go on foreign holidays. Consumer confidence held up a bit better as London is proving slightly more resilient to recession than other parts of the UK."

The high street has been one of the biggest casualties of the recession so far, with victims including names such as Woolworths and Zavvi.

But heavy discounting and London Fashion Week, which encouraged young shoppers to go out and spend, made the situation easier for shops in the capital.

The pound has lost about a third of its value since the summer, making it more expensive for Britons to travel abroad but cheaper for visitors to come to Britain.

The New West End Company, which represents retailers in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street, said the number of people shopping in February fell 0.4 per cent because of the heavy snowfall, although the reduction in numbers of London shoppers was only a fraction of the 7.8 per cent decline in the rest of the country.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, said: "Central London has once again outperformed the rest of the UK.

"The results for the month were impacted negatively by the effects of the snowy weather in the first week but this was more than offset by the ongoing benefits of both the increased level of foreign visitors continuing to take advantage of the favourable exchange rate and the high levels of discounting and promotions."