London’s Bond Street becomes Europe’s most expensive shopping street as retail rent rockets

London’s Bond Street, which is popular among luxury brands and home to the likes of Burberry, Chanel and Gucci, has taken over from Milan’s Via Monte Napoleone and now has the highest retail rent of any shopping destination in Europe.

Bond Street saw a 20% rise in prime headline rents in 2024 and the luxury retail destination in Mayfair now has indicative prime rent of €15,333 per sq m (£13,162 per sq m), according to property firm Savills.

London’s growth in 2024 also marked its strongest since the pandemic as the demand for retail space in prime shopping locations surged.

Looking at retail destinations on a global scale, New York’s infamous Fifth Avenue came out on top and was named the most “expensive” retail destination in the world, closely followed by New York’s Madison Avenue in second and leaving Bond Street as the third most expensive globally.

The new research by Savills revealed that the luxury sector remained resilient against “economic headwinds” last year and saw a 12% increase in new store openings worldwide.

And despite China accounting for 40% of all new openings globally, Savills expects store openings across the board to slow in 2025, particularly in China.

Savills co-head of global retail Anthony Selwyn said: “Luxury brands are clearly taking a longer-term strategic view of the market and are recalibrating portfolios to get closer to their consumers. 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.

“As a consequence, upward pressure on prime rents in these markets will continue, albeit growth will slow, with availability of space becoming more constrained.”

Savills director in commercial research Marie Hickey added: “The stabilisation in the luxury market’s performance that started to materialise at the end of 2024 will become more entrenched as this year progresses.

“Weakened consumer sentiment in the US and China, however, will weigh on growth, and will shape real estate investment, with the focus over the short term to remain on the best opportunities.”