London remains the shining beacon amongst the gloomy performance of the wider UK retail commercial property market, reports Colliers International. The company provides an overview of the current state of the retail market in a new report which assesses the extent to which these trends are impacting on the high street by using vacant units as a key indicator

According to Colliers the proportion of vacant units and floorspace in their sample of ten Central London streets has fallen for the fourth consecutive six-month period to 1.9% and 0.9% respectively – down from the previous 3.5% and 2.0% in January 2011.

The disparity between the fortunes of the UK and Central London retail markets grows ever wider with the proportion of vacant units in the national market seven times higher than in the Capital.

The average size of a vacant unit in Central London is now at its lowest level in four and a half years at 1,468 sq ft in July 2011 - 47% smaller than the peak of 2,748 sq ft in July 2007.

Sarah Banfield, Associate Director, Research & Forecasting at Colliers says that following an unusually poor first quarter, the Central London retail market continues to buck the national trend with impressive annual like-for-like retail sales growth of 11.3% and 6.8% in the West End in June and July respectively.

She added: “The Capital’s strength is that, despite what’s going on in the domestic economy, its international appeal as a top shopping destination ensures that visitor numbers remain high and sales values continue to grow, thanks, in part, to high-spending shoppers from the Middle East and China.

“The disparity between the fortunes of the UK and Central London retail markets is now at its widest, with the proportion of vacant units in the wider national market standing at 13.3% in April 2011 - seven times higher than in the Capital.

“ London remains the shining beacon in amongst the gloomy performance of the wider UK retail market. Its relative immunity to the national economic woes and ‘consumer recession’ will stand it in good stead for the remainder of the year and into 2012 when the Olympic Games will provide an additional boost to retailers in the Capital that is over and above the usual healthy visitor numbers.”