New West End Company launches ‘Open for Growth’ plan for decade of West End investment

New West End Company (NWEC) has launched its ‘Open for Growth: Powering the West End for the Nation’ report, setting out the organisation’s priorities for strengthening the district’s retail, hospitality, leisure, tourism and business economy over the next decade.

Launched on September 24, the plan is formed around three areas: Open and Safe, Open to the World and Open for Business. NWEC said the proposals are intended to work alongside government policy, with most of its requests focused on changes to existing rules instead of new public spending.

The organisation represents more than 800 businesses across the West End, including the retail destinations of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, which collectively attract around 200 million visits annually, support more than 350,000 jobs and generate around 17 billion pounds in tax each year, according to the report. The area also contributes 8 percent of UK business rates.

NWEC's chief executive officer Dee Corsi said the organisation wants to work with government to support the wider growth agenda, adding: “We share that mission and we would like to help deliver it. We are ready to work together to ensure we are delivering growth, not just for London but the whole of the UK.”

Open and Safe

Safety is the first priority in the plan, with NWEC calling for a long-term approach to policing and crime prevention across the district. The organisation is seeking increased visible neighbourhood policing, a national multi-agency taskforce addressing organised retail and acquisitive crime, and a statutory framework for live facial recognition.

It is already investing 4.3 million pounds a year in security and operations and says it provided 78,949 hours of high-visibility patrols during the last BID year. Working with the Metropolitan Police, theft-from-person across the district has fallen 45 percent year-on-year, according to the report.

Open for Business

The second part of the plan focuses on the cost of operating in the West End, with business rates and planning identified as priorities. NWEC said 335 West End stores now sit above the 500,000 pounds rateable-value threshold for the higher business rates multiplier. Their combined annual liability has risen from 212 million to 274 million pounds, an average increase of around 183,000 per property pounds.

The organisation is calling for no further increase in the higher multiplier, transitional relief for businesses entering the higher bracket and a published assessment of its impact on jobs and investment. It also wants business rates to move from slab-based to slice-based multipliers and for the review cycle to be extended so businesses can plan for longer-term costs.

Planning is also touched on, with NWEC showing support for the government's National Scheme of Delegation and wanting planning authorities to deliver more consistent and timely decisions. It said the current West End development pipeline could add 558 million pounds in turnover by 2035 if planning certainty is maintained.

Open to the World

The final section addresses international visitors and trading hours, particularly in the wake of international visitor numbers to the West End increasing 11.8 percent in 2025. NWEC's global benchmarking also found London to be the most consistently competitive city among the 13 destinations studied, however, the capital was ranked last for policy competitiveness and is one of only four cities in the study without a shopping incentive scheme.

NWEC is further calling for the restoration of tax-free shopping for international visitors or the opportunity to work with government on an alternative visitor economy spending incentive covering retail, hospitality and leisure across the UK. It also backs an overnight visitor levy that aligns with international standards, with revenue reinvested in the areas where it is generated and local businesses to have a say in how the money is spent.

Trading hours were another area of focus, as NWEC suggested a time-limited Sunday trading pilot for the West End International Centre, while calling for existing worker protections to remain in place and enhanced pay for voluntary Sunday hours.

Corsi concluded: "The benefits of a stronger West End extend far beyond London. If the West End grows, London grows. If London grows, the UK grows."