Bond Street reclaims title as Europe’s most expensive shopping street

London's Bond Street has reclaimed its position as the most expensive shopping street in Europe, driven by rising rents and increased demand for luxury retail.

New data from Savills reveals that the West End street recorded a 20% increase in prime rents last year, reaching £13,162 per square metre. It overtook Milan’s Via Monte Napoloene with prime rents at £12,872 per square metre, according to The Times.

Home to luxury labels including Chanel and Louis Vuitton, Bond Street is also now the third most expensive street in the world after Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong and New York’s Fifth Avenue.

The data reflects renewed competition for premium retail space among retailers post-pandemic, pushing up rents as high-end brands continue to reposition themselves for growth.

It also suggests businesses are betting on a stabilisation in the wider luxury market after a global slowdown brought on by ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and rising costs.

Anthony Selwyn, Co-head of Global Retail at Savills, said luxury brands were "clearly taking a longer-term strategic view of the market and are recalibrating portfolios to get closer to their consumers".

He added: "In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, with reduced international travel, we saw brands increasingly focus on large, affluent, relatively underserved domestic markets. And while this trend will continue, we will see our core luxury markets become increasingly more competitive, with building quality and pitch being of the upmost importance."

Selwyn also acknowledged that increased demand for prime rents will continue, although growth will slow as the availability of space becomes more constrained.