Londoners don’t want cookie-cutter high streets. Independent retail is the key to urban regeneration, writes L&G head of place Denz Ibrahim in today’s Notebook

All hail the indie retail boom! It’s the key to saving the high street

If you build it, they will come. The quip that so long paved the way for urban regeneration. For years it was thought that filling retail units chock-full of recognisable names was the ticket to success. However, as ecommerce took over and everyone turned to Amazon, a thirst for discovery grew. In a world where convenience is king, what purpose can the high street serve in society?

This was the turning point, a sort of seismic shift in figuring out what makes people tick, move and visit somewhere new. For this, it’s the experience that’s key. A study by Faire shows that 74 per cent of Gen Z shoppers prefer independent retailers, shying away from chains and favouring unique experiences.

A problem persisted though: how do you populate commercial spaces with interesting, independent purveyors? The answer moves away from the traditional agent model, which may quickly fill units, only to see those units vacated just as........

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