London’s West End is officially Europe’s leading shopping destination, according to research by Experian.

The Capital fended off competition from Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin to top Experian’s inaugural European Retail Rankings.

Shopping destinations are ranked by total estimated spend. The West End came top with an estimated spend for 2008 of €6.2bn, compared to €5.8bn for Paris.

Glasgow (€2.7bn), Birmingham (€2.5bn) and Manchester (€2.4bn) were ranked 17th, 18th and 19th respectively.

The rankings take into account cross border spend, spend-per-head differences by country, the retail offer within the centre, and the effects of competing out-of-town schemes.

The top 10 European retail destinations with estimated spend in Euros for 2008:

RANK CENTRE WEIGHTED COMPARISON SPEND (€m)

1. London West End €6,174

2. Paris €5,879

3. Rome €5,763

4. Madrid €5,378

5. Berlin €5,080

6. Munich €4,630

7. Barcelona €4,398

8. Athens €4,385

9. Milan €4,066

10. Zurich €3,905

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