West End stores campaign to bring shoppers back into central London

Retailers in the West End are to unite in a bid to bring customers flocking back to the capital's main shopping streets.

Store groups, understood to include John Lewis Partnership and HMV, are coming together to back a promotional campaign in a bid to restore the West End's battered reputation as Britain's premier shopping destination.

The New West End Company is coordinating the campaign, due to go live before Easter.

A source close to the drive said: 'We want to remind people of the unique retail offer in London's West End. It will be aimed at Londoners and people in the surrounding catchment area.'

Retailers in the West End have suffered as a result of the threat of terrorism and the closure of the Central Line.

Last week, representatives of Westminster City Council and West End businesses lobbied Tube bosses for a speedy resolution of the Central Line problems.