London’s West End could lose £5bn in sales and 50,000 jobs, partnership warns

Oxford Street shopping (PA)
A shopper passes a boarded up shop unit on Oxford Street Credit: PA

More than 50,000 jobs could be at risk in London’s West End if tourists and office workers do not return, a partnership representing the area has warned.

The New West End Company, which represents 600 businesses across Oxford Street, Bond Street, Regent Street and Mayfair, said the district could also lose £5 billion in sales without further Government help.

  • In the first full month since the reopening of non-essential retail on June 15, 5.1 million people visited the West End

  • That figure is down 73% year-on-year for the same period

Jace Tyrrell, the New West End Company’s chief executive, said that without consumers having the confidence to travel and visit, the situation was “highly precarious with 50,000 jobs at risk”.

The partnership said London was “faring worse” than the rest of the UK, despite footfall increasing in the West End – which is home to many of the capital’s major tourist attractions – by 5% since the reopening.

The New West End Company said without further Government action, and a lack of domestic and international tourists and office workers, there could be a “£5 billion loss in sales, putting over 50,000 jobs at risk”.