SHOP RENTS on London's Bond Street, home to the world's glitziest brands, are poised to defy the credit crunch and smash through £900 per square foot - a record in Britain.
Retail sources said that luxury conglomerates, thought to include LVMH and Richemont, owner of Cartier, were believed to be eyeing part of a prime unit available at 169 New Bond Street. Property agents said they expected a deal to be sewn up in the next few weeks.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to secure a spot like this," said one property source. "The deal will blow existing rental benchmarks out of the water."
A report from Colliers CRE, the commercial property consultant, released to The Sunday Times this weekend, says central London shop rents have been resilient in the face of the recession. The cheap pound has helped to attract wealthy tourists.
In its Great Britain Retail Report, Colliers said shop rents at the Canary Wharf development in east London were the best performers in the year to June 2009, rising 11.7% from £300 to £335 per square foot. Rents in Old Bond Street increased 3.4% over the same period to a record £750 per square foot.
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David Kenningham, executive director of retail at CB Richard Ellis, the commercial property consultant, said: "The unique mix of retailers in central London has made it a key destination for tourists and local shoppers alike."
Martin Thomas of Jones Lang LaSalle, another consultant, said: "Demand, particularly in the prime pitch between Asprey and Tiffany, never fails to surprise me."
The record rent of £750 per square foot, set in March, is paid by Bulgari, the Italian jeweller and luxury goods retailer.