Manchester is biggest retail centre outside London, says report

MANCHESTER is the UK’s second city when it comes to retail, according to new research.

The RetailVision report, which compiles data from more than 17,000 retail centres, has put the city centre second to London’s Oxford Street based on the amount spent by shoppers over the past year.

Some £1.4bn was spent in Oxford Street while shoppers in Manchester parted with £920m. Birmingham was in third place with a spend of £882m, according to the report which is compiled by Leeds-based credit reference business Callcredit.

Liverpool was in tenth place, down from ninth last year, on £654m, while Leeds was in seventh with £685m. The Trafford Centre was in 29th place with an annual spend of £374m.

Jane Sharrocks, general manager of Manchester’s Selfridges and chair of the business improvement district which works to increase footfall, said: “The combination of a strong retail mix and a thriving calendar of events has undoubtedly helped Manchester to comfortably secure its place as the top retail destination outside of London.

“Vogue’s decision to relocate this year’s Fashion’s Night Out to Manchester is further evidence of a city with a fashion profile to be proud of and it’s fantastic to see retail spend increasing year on year.”

However, no North West cities featured in the least of top 10 luxury retail centres. It was dominated by areas of London such as Knightsbridge and Chelsea, with Guildford and Edinburgh in ninth and tenth place.