Brum's Bullring will boost city above Manchester

Birmingham will overtake Manchester as the UK's second most important shopping destination when the Bullring opens in September, says consultancy Management Horizons.

But according to the research company's UK Shopping Index 2003/04, which ranks places on criteria such as the number of retailers present and types of shop, London's West End is still the top shopping destination.

Manchester moved up from third in the last ranking, as a result of post-bomb redevelopment. But the Bullring, already 95 per cent let, will catapult Birmingham from its sixth position almost immediately, said Management Horizons senior consultant Andrew Leung.

Apart from Birmingham's rise, the top-10 rankings are not expected to change much until 2007/08 because of a dearth of new developments in the next couple of years.

While London continues to outstrip all other areas, Oxford Street, if assessed on its own on the basis of retailer presence, has slipped to ninth from seventh last time and from third in 1995/96. The slide is because of saturation and restricted opportunities for growth.

New entrants to this year's top 10 are Norwich and Leicester, which have pushed out Reading and Newcastle. Among the top 25 locations, Southampton is the only entrant. Bromley, previously among the top 25, has now fallen to 27th.