Retailers which opened in Westfield London last week are furious over hikes in service charges imposed by the shopping centre.

Arcadia Group and New Look are preparing to fight the increases of up to 75 per cent, which cover costs from cleaning to marketing.

According to the Financial Times, retailers say Westfield estimated that the costs would amount toÂŁ8 per sq ft, but in the last few days have been asked to pay almostÂŁ14.

This could increase costs for retailers by more thanÂŁ500,000 a year, and some are threatening to refuse to pay the new amount.

New Look’s chairman Phil Wrigley said: “We will be paying what was originally proposed.”

Westfield said: “There is no comparable retail centre in the UK against which to benchmark, while the mooted£8 figure predates our involvement in the development.”

Last Thursday thousands turned out for the long-awaited launch of Westfield London, which houses 265 new stores covering more than 1.6 million sq ft of space on the 43 acre site in White City.

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