Capital's shops hit worst by sales slide

LONDON'S retailers are having an even tougher time than those in the rest of Britain, according to a survey showing stores in the capital suffered a fall in sales in February.

Cold, wet weather, higher prices after the January sales and worries about the housing market and interest rates have hit Londoners especially hard, the London Retail Consortium said.

It also blamed a lack of American tourists, who have stayed away because the dollar is weak.

The report from the LRC and accountants KPMG shows February like-for-like sales down 0.4% on a year ago. That compares with a 0.3% decline nationally.

LRC director Kevin Hawkins said: 'While the January sales brought some comfort to London stores, trade fell once the heavy discounting ended, and February proved a challenging month for many retailers in the capital. Footfall levels failed to pick up throughout the month, not helped by the wet and cold weather, and even Valentine's Day didn't give some retailers the boost they hoped for.'

The retail slowdown came despite another month of good economic growth for London in February. The Royal Bank of Scotland purchasing managers' index registered 59.1, down from 60.1 in January but well above the 50 'boom-bust' reading.

Growth of incoming new business eased to its slowest for five months but remained substantial. The UK reading was 54.4, indicating London's growth outpaced the national average.