High streets stage comeback

Shoppers drive in droves to out-of-town centres

London's Oxford Street is the best place in the UK to set up shop, according to a report which says the traditional high street is staging a recovery after years of decline.

Retail consultancy Verdict has ranked the UK's top 100 places to set up shops, from the point of view of shopkeepers and investors.

Top of the shops

1: Oxford St

2: Birmingham

3: Manchester

4: Glasgow

5: Nottingham

6: Bluewater

7: Kingston

8: Leeds

9: Belfast

10: Norwich

Oxford Street is followed by Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Nottingham before the highest ranked out-of-town centre, Bluewater, in sixth position, ahead of Kingston-Upon-Thames and Leeds.

"Verdict believes that the high street's position has stabilised, with the slowing down of out-of-town development and reinvestment in traditional high streets and covered malls leading off them," says the report.

"Gradual growth in sales and space is predicted over the next five years," it adds.

Shoppers prefer high streets

Marks & Spencer remains the UK's pre-eminent high street retailers, said Verdict, with almost 12% of total high street sales.

The report found that just 16% of shoppers would like to see more out-of-town development, but Verdict says further action needs to be taken to prevent town centres slipping down the rankings of its top 100 shopping centres.

Out of estimated total retail sales of £197.2bn in 1999, the report estimates that £93.8bn - or 48% - were from the high street.

Sales on the high street have grown by 35% over the last 10 years compared with 48% for all retailers.

Half the population believes the quality of their local high street has declined in the last few years but half would rather shop there.

Prospects lift centres

Currently about a third of shoppers are prepared to travel for more than 30 minutes to a shopping destination.

Future new space expected to come on line led to some of the biggest risers in the rankings.

These include Plymouth at number 18, Northampton at 32 and Sunderland at 33, while North London's Brent Cross enters the ranking at 66 in anticipation of an extension which will add a third more space.

The report comes at a time when a succession of downbeat sales figures from high street retailers had given the impression that the growth of online shopping and out-of-town developments had sent town and city centre stores into a tailspin.