Retailers in Bond Street hope creating more drop-off points and making the street two-way will entice wealthy Arabs to bring their supercars, such as this Mercedes SLS, and their wallets. Stephen Lock for The National
Retailers in Bond Street hope creating more drop-off points and making the street two-way will entice wealthy Arabs to bring their supercars, such as this Mercedes SLS, and their wallets. Stephen Lock for The National
Retailers in Bond Street hope creating more drop-off points and making the street two-way will entice wealthy Arabs to bring their supercars, such as this Mercedes SLS, and their wallets. Stephen Lock for The National
Retailers in Bond Street hope creating more drop-off points and making the street two-way will entice wealthy Arabs to bring their supercars, such as this Mercedes SLS, and their wallets. Stephen Lock

Travel and Tourism

Bond Street developers want to cash in on the so-called “supercar season”, and have launched a £20 million plan partly aimed at attracting more Middle Eastern visitors.

Ben Flanagan

November 14, 2014

  • English
  • Arabic

LONDON // One of the UK capital’s most genteel shopping streets is on a drive to boost business – by attracting a convoy of Arabian Gulf-owned supercars.

Thousands of wealthy visitors from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait descend on central London every summer, with many also flying over their luxury cars.

Bond Street developers want to cash in on the so-called “supercar season”, and have launched a £20 million (Dh115.1m) plan partly aimed at attracting more Middle East visitors.

Beverley Aspinall, managing director of the Bond Street Development Group, said the proposal would allow two-way traffic on the street and introduce areas where drivers could drop off passengers.

The proposals have been made specifically with Arab tourists in mind, Ms Aspinall said.

“A lot of people from the Middle East bring their cars over with them for the summer,” she said. “There are a lot of sportscars, Range Rovers, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys – we’ve got to make sure that you can get the car down the street comfortably, park it and drop people off.”

Middle East shoppers spend an average of £1,393 on each transaction when visiting Bond Street – a figure Ms Aspinall thinks will rise substantially in the future.

Luxury retailers on the street include Prada and Bvlgari.

But not everyone is pleased with the prospect of more Gulf-owned Porsches and Bugattis racing up and down the street.

Ron Whelan, chairman of the Mayfair Residents Group, said the plan to redevelop the street “sounds like a disaster”.

“It may well benefit certain retailers, but it won’t benefit the area,” he said.

Loud cars are already a problem in neighbouring streets, said Mr Whelan, who has lived in the area for 40 years and plans to contact his local councillor to raise his concerns.

“It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and they’re revving up the engines and racing up and down the street,” he said. “Noise is the main problem, as well as antisocial behaviour.”

Some residents of nearby Knightsbridge, home to the Qatar-owned Harrods department store, have campaigned against the annual influx of Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

Complaints centre on noise, dangerous driving and unpaid parking fines.

Westminster city council said the UAE was sixth in its ranking of countries with the largest total of unpaid fines. Drivers from the Emirates have incurred fines of £57,060 in the past year.

But the head of another residents’ association was more positive about the plans for Bond Street.

Arab-owned supercars may be noisy, but their owners are big spenders in the area, said Anthony Lorenz, chairman of the Residents’ Society of Mayfair and St James’s.

“There are pros and cons of the high-flying Maserati brigade,” Mr Lorenz said.

“They do make a lot of noise and park illegally all the time, but on the other hand they’re bringing wealth into the area and that’s part of the retailing spirit in Bond Street.”

Complaints about supercars were petty, he said. “If you do have a Maserati, who can blame you for wanting to get the engine sounding occasionally?”

Mr Lorenz, who has been working in commercial property in the area for almost 50 years, welcomed the development group’s plan to redevelop the street.

Its plans centre on Old Bond Street and New Bond Street – the two roads known collectively as Bond Street.

The makeover includes new paving, signs and lighting – and will aim to recapture some of the historic spirit of the street.

“Bond Street, when I remember it from the 1960s, used to have three or four cafes, outside seating ... you would go there to enjoy the atmosphere of the street,” Mr Lorenz said. “It’s lost that.

“It’s very old fashioned in comparison with a similar street in Paris, Rome or Milan.”

Ms Aspinall said she did not expect objections to pose a stumbling block to the redevelopment, which is set to be completed by 2018.

“Bond Street is all about glamour and sophistication,” she said.

“We absolutely welcome the whole image of walking down Bond Street and seeing smart cars, people posing.

“That’s what they’ve done for 300 years, and that’s what we want to continue to happen.”

newsdesk@thenational.ae

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