BUCHANAN Street is the most expensive UK retail destination outside London this year, beating comparable shopping thoroughfares in the likes of Edinburgh, Guildford and Manchester.
That is according to global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield, which said the Glaswegian street can command rent of £1,887 per square metre per year, beating the Scottish capital's Princes Street, which came in at £1,406.
The news came as the consultancy firm published its Main Streets Across the World report, examining the global retail market in the top 330 shopping destinations across 65 countries.
It reported that Upper Fifth Avenue in New York came in as the most expensive street in the world at £23,237 per square metre per year, while New Bond Street in London ranked fourth-highest globally at £8,073 per square metre.
Ross Wilkie, associate retail services for Cushman & Wakefield in Glasgow, said Buchanan Street still has "enduring appeal" for both retailers and customers, enjoying high levels of footfall and robust demand from retailers looking to open Scottish flagship stores.
He highlighted recent activity such as new lettings to Ted Baker, Lush, Kiehl's and Hard Rock Café, and added: "The future for the street will only be strengthened further with the proposed extension to Buchanan Galleries."
Work to extend Buchanan Galleries by 500,000 square feet could start on-site as soon as April next year, the shopping centre's owner Land Securities said earlier this month.
The development is set to add 42 retail and catering units and a Showcase Cinema to the Galleries, with completion set for March 2018 at the earliest.
Glasgow City Council praised Buchanan Street's success in the Cushman & Wakefield findings, which resulted from the sample used for the study and excluded Buchanan Galleries.
A council spokesman said: "This survey reflects the value of Buchanan Street, the eighth-busiest shopping street in the world.
"It is one of the UK's prime shopping destinations and every major brand and high street retailer wants a presence there.However, the rental market varies across the city centre, providing plenty of opportunity for all shapes and sizes of businesses to operate here.
"As a result, Glasgow continues to offer the best shopping experience outside the west end of London."
Buchanan Street was last year boosted with the opening of the Buchanan Quarter, also owned by Land Securities, which describes itself as "reinforcing Glasgow's status as the top shopping destination outside of London".
It comprises 11 new retail units including Gap, Paperchase and Forever 21, with the latter marking the US brand's first shop in Scotland and one of only six in the UK, and at 60,000 square feet over three floors becoming one of the largest stores on Buchanan Street.
The street was also chosen to be home to Scotland's first Apple store, which opened in 2007.
Cushman & Wakefield says that mature core markets such as the UK continue to see good leasing activity, especially in the prime segment, and overall, it expects retail market activity to improve.
Martin Mahmuti, senior investment analyst, said major retail brands will continue to reinvent their flagship stores.
He also said: "Premier shopping locations will remain in high demand as retailers are keen to establish a presence and raise their brand profile, but supply as ever will remain tight.
"The growth of online shopping, supporting the polarisation in the market in favour of the biggest and the best, will increasingly drive retailer expansion strategies whilst also having a structural impact on local markets."
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