UK: High Streets Stage A Comeback

London's Oxford Street is the best place in the UK to set up shop, according to a new report which says the traditional high street is staging a recovery after years of decline. Retail consultancy Verdict has ranked the UK's top 100 places to set up shops, from the point of view of shopkeepers and investors, in its publication 'Verdict on the High Street 2000'. Oxford Street is followed by Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Nottingham before the highest ranked out-of-town centre, Bluewater, in sixth position, ahead of Kingston-Upon-Thames and Leeds. "Verdict believes that the high street's position has stabilised, with the slowing down of out-of-town development and reinvestment in traditional high streets and covered malls leading off them," says the report. "Gradual growth in sales and space is predicted over the next five years," it adds.