Network Rail retail sales up 10% across London stations

The latest quarterly figures (Q4 covering January to March 2024) released by Network Rail Property have revealed a like-for-like (LFL) retail sales increase of +10.3% across its retail portfolio of 10 managed stations in London.

During the same quarter, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) tracked 2% growth in like-for-like sales highlighting a strong performance at Network Rail destinations.

Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) figures show that over 405 million journeys were made in the quarter, generating rail passenger revenues above £2.58bn.

Strong sales performances were supported by the opening of 13 stores and F&B outlets across Network Rail London stations in Q4. Openings included five new brands to the Network Rail portfolio. BrewDog opened its first craft beer bar at Waterloo station, with Chopstix, InMotion and Change Group also joining the Network Rail portfolio with London-based units.

Across all 19 Network Rail destination stations, London Charing Cross was the best performing station for the quarter in London with LFL brand sales up 24.4%. Clapham Junction experienced the second highest LFL sales growth in the capital, supported by a footfall uplift of +19.6% in Q4.

Across all 19 stations in Great Britain, total brand sales in Q4 of £199.8m delivered an increase of +10% compared to Q4 2019/20, which represents an £18.2m growth on pre-pandemic levels. Network Rail’s annual brand sales for 2023/2024 surpassed £842m and were +2% ahead of 2019/20.

Sustained sales growth underlines Network Rail’s retail strategy delivering a great experience for customers. Over the last year, Network Rail has taken proactive steps to diversify the station experience, introducing 30 new brands to its portfolio and curating a balanced offering across its city centre locations. Income generated through retail and F&B is key to Network Rail’s wider reinvestment into the transformation of Britain’s railways.

Hamish Kiernan, Commercial Director, Property at Network Rail, said, “We’re highly encouraged by our sales figures for Q4 across our managed stations in London.

“As brands continue to invest in our London stations, welcoming new businesses and store formats means our customers and communities continue to benefit from an attractive mix of retail and F&B.”