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Record breaking quarterly sales at Network Rail stations

Retail

London Waterloo is the best performing station for three quarters back-to-back as sales increase by 24%, to a total of £240.5m

Network Rail Property has achieved its highest ever quarter of retail sales (Q3 covering October to December 2024) revealing a total sales* uplift of +7% and +7.7% like-for-like (LfL) sales boost across its portfolio of 19 managed stations in Great Britain.

Set against the wider retail market, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) tracked a +0.3% increase of LFL sales for the same quarter. Each of the five Network Rail regions delivered positive retail sales across both LfL and total sales. Many of the brands working with Network Rail now have their highest performing stores within our stations.

Total retail sales in Q3 reached £240.5m, representing an increase of over £16m compared to the previous year. Additionally, retail sales overtook the previous quarter, jumping by over +£7m. Network Rail’s total retail sales for calendar year 2024 surpassed £900m and for the first three quarters of this financial year, reached £701m.

GAIL'S London Bridge

During Q3 2024, 24 retail units have opened across the 19 stations. 3 new brands joined the Network Rail line up and 6 pop-ups including the Paddington in Peru pop-up at Paddington station, the Duck World pop-up at London Bridge and two permanent GAIL’s, one at London Bridge and another at London Liverpool Street station.

For the third quarter in a row, London Waterloo was the best performing destination in terms of total sales growth for Q3. Total sales increased by +24.2% at London Waterloo over the last quarter, followed by Euston at +13.5% YOY.

Top five performing Network Rail stations for Q3 total sales growth
Station Total Sales Growth %
London Waterloo +24.2%
London Euston +13.5%
Liverpool Lime Street +11.7%
Reading +10.7%
Guildford +9.8%

On a LFL basis, Charing Cross was the best performing station in the quarter with +13.1% sales growth. Victoria was closely behind, with +12% LFL sales growth for the period. Sales performances are tracked by Network Rail across retail, F&B and grocery categories, with Q3 seeing the strongest LFL growth in the Grocery category followed by Cards & Stationery.

Top five performing Network Rail stations for Q3 LFL growth
Station l LFL Sales Growth %
London Charing Cross +13.1%
London Victoria +12%
London Liverpool Street +11.7%
London Waterloo +11%
Edinburgh +10.5%

In Q3, all five Network Rail regions experienced positive LFL sales performance. Eastern and North West and Central saw the largest regional uptick, with sales increasing by 8% compared to same period last year. In terms of total sales, North West and Central saw the biggest increase at +11% on 2023 levels.

Diversifying and transforming the retail experience for customers continues to be a priority for Network Rail Property. Carefully curating stations for brand success and continued sales growth demonstrates the strength of Network Rail’s retail strategy.

“Our retail sales figures across these 19 managed stations continue to go from strength to strength, and our Q3 sales figures are the highest ever, demonstrating the strength of our offer. We’re continuing to diversify our retail to bring a strong and varied mix to customers using our stations. And we’re ensuring the right retail is in the right location. Consistent performance over the last quarter highlights the success of this strategy and our vision to create destination stations.”

Hamish Kiernan, Commercial Director, Property at Network Rail
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