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It’s no secret that London is an expensive place to eat, drink, shop and, well, generally just live. And that’s the case for us normal folks, but it turns out that the capital is one of the planet’s spenniest cities for the ultra-rich, too (despite recent data showing that the capital is home to a stonking 227,000 millionaires).
A new report reckons that London’s New Bond Street is officially the world’s third-most expensive shopping destination. This accolade comes courtesy of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, which has published its Main Streets Across the World study for 2024.
This year C&W’s report dived into 138 locations around the globe, noting trends and changes in the retail sector and, crucially, revealing average rent levels. Across these prime shopping destinations, the study found that average headline rents now sit almost 6 percent higher than before the pandemic, and 57 percent of these streets have seen positive rental growth year-over-year. Rather than list the most expensive destinations based on the price of goods, Main Streets Across the World ranks streets based on how expensive they are for retailers to rent.
At the pinnacle of luxury shopping, Milan’s Via Montenapoleone tops the list as the most expensive retail street to rent globally, with rent costing a whopping $2,047 (£1,612) per square foot per year. Following closely behind was New York’s Fifth Avenue (between 49th and 60th streets) in second spot and with rent rates of $2,000 (£1,575) per sqft p/a.
In last year’s Main Streets Across the World report New Bond Street came fourth; in 2024 the West End shopping destination has leapfrogged Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui, with rents increasing by 11 percent to an average of $1,762 (£1,387) per square foot, per year.
Fancy diving into the report? You can read Cushman & Wakefield’s 2024 edition of Main Streets Across the World for yourself here.
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