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Thursday 1 Aug 2024

Retail sales up 23% across Scottish Network Rail destinations

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

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 +23% across its Scottish retail portfolio at Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations.

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 in Great Britain.  

Strong sales performances in Scotland were supported by considerable LFL sales growth at Glasgow Central. Over the quarter LFL sales increased by +32% at Glasgow Central, supported by the refurbishment of the station’s WH Smith unit. Edinburgh Waverley also experienced strong sustained retail performance, with LFL sales increasing by +17%.

Network Rail is currently transforming the customer and retail experience at Glasgow Central creating a wider choice of brands within the station. Edinburgh Waverley is currently 100% let and additional opportunities are being explored to increase the retail mix.

All five regions across the Network Rail portfolio experienced growth in LFL sales, with the strongest rise coming in Scotland. LFL retail sales grew by +11.1% across the entirety of its retail portfolio of 19 managed stations throughout Great Britain.

Across all 19 stations, total retail sales in Q4 of £199.6m delivered an increase of +10% compared to Q4 2019/20, which represents an £18.2m growth on pre-pandemic levels. Network Rail’s annual retail 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, comments: “We’re highly encouraged by our retail sales figures across our managed Scottish stations for Q4. As we continue to invest in our stations through transforming our retail space, it’s also great to see brands invest.  Welcoming new businesses and store formats ensures both our customers and communities benefit from an attractive mix of retail and F&B.”

*Retail sales covers retail, F&B and grocery brand sales.

ENDS