Network Rail retail sales climb by 12.6% across its station portfolio
Network Rail has seen like-for-like retail sales rise by 12.6% across its retail portfolio of 19 managed stations in its fourth quarter.
From January to March, the stations’ total sales climbed by 10% on pre-pandemic levels to £199.6 million. In addition, Network Rail’s annual retail sales for 2023/2024 surpassed £842 million and were 2% ahead of 2019/20.
The quarterly performance was boosted by the opening of 16 stores and F&B outlets across Network Rail stations. Five of these were new to the Network Rail portfolio and included BrewDog, Chopstix, Change Group, InMotion and Aspen Flora.
Across Network Rail destination stations, Liverpool Lime Street was the best performing station in the quarter with like-for-like brand sales up 33.1%. Other stations putting in a strong performance included Liverpool Lime Street. London Charing Cross, Glasgow Central, Clapham Junction and Bristol Temple Meads,
All five regions across the Network Rail portfolio experienced growth in like=for-like sales, with the strongest rise coming in Scotland at 23%.
Over the last year, Network Rail has been working to diversify the station experience which has included introducing 30 new brands to its portfolio.
Hamish Kiernan, commercial director, property at Network Rail, said: “We’re highly encouraged by our sales figures for Q4. As brands continue to invest in our stations, welcoming new businesses and store formats means our customers and communities continue to benefit from an attractive mix of retail and F&B.”
