Foriegn Retailers Save West End

The proportion of vacant shops in London's West End has declined during the economic crisis. The vacancy rate in the area, which receives about 200 million visitors a year, fell from 5.9 percent to 4.6 percent between January 2007 and July 2009, in contrast to the rest of the country where it jumped from 7.3 percent to 13.8 percent in the period. The resilience in the West End has been credited to the entrance of foreign retailers eager to sell their goods to overseas tourists. The research also showed that empty premises in the West End remain unoccupied for a shorter period than in the rest of the capital and Britain.