London's economy sets pace

LONDON is bucking the national trend of a slowing economy, expanding in September at its fastest pace for six months.

The upbeat findings come in the latest snapshot of London's economy from the Royal Bank of Scotland. It also says business optimism is leading firms to hire staff at the fastest rate in a year. Its headline business activity index registered 58.2, up from 57.4 in August. A figure above 50 indicates expansion. Britain's figure was 54.3, meaning London's growth greatly outpaced the national average.

Meanwhile, a separate report claimed that Londoners' voracious appetite for shopping will require up to 1.5m square metres of extra retail floorspace by 2016 - equivalent to twice the size of the West End. Spending on non-food goods in the capital will grow by an average 4.9% a year over the next 12 years, according to Experian.