Westminster City Council and landlords Places for London, Transport for London’s property company, and Royal London Asset Management Property have launched their pop-up initiative, first mooted in October.

Westminster City Council has also agreed to push ahead the transformation of Oxford Street despite not having secured private finance for the latest phase of the scheme. Its £150M Oxford Street Programme to revamp the famous street with wider pavements, trees and better crossings is looking for investment from the private sector for half of the total bill.

While officials at a 15 July meeting said this has not yet been officially agreed, Westminster city cabinet members agreed to spend £3.9M on Stage 3 of the project for final designs to be completed over the next seven months.

The initiatives come as accountancy and business advisory firm BDO confirmed that it had signed a long-term lease for its new UK headquarters at The M Building, Marylebone Lane. It has taken 220K SF for its 5,000 London-based employees and plans to relocate in autumn 2027.

The former Debenhams department store building is owned and being fully developed by Ramsbury in partnership with development adviser Capital Real Estate Partners. CBRE advised on the deal.

A report to the Westminster cabinet outlined that the council “does not have the financial assurance that 50% of the required third-party funding will be secured” from the private sector, and The New West End Company has been tasked with locking down the funds for the council’s project.

Despite this, officers recommended pushing ahead with the latest phase, and in total, the city council plans to spend £89M on Oxford Street, £25M on Oxford Circus, £16M on highway schemes and £16M on other “complementary schemes.”

“Oxford Street accounts for 5% of London’s economy on its own. The decline in rental values during Covid has cost the taxpayers £81M a year. If the sales rise by 5%, that brings in £65M in VAT,” Westminster City Council Lead Planning Councillor Geoff Barraclough said at the meeting, adding that the public commitment of the council had “helped the private sector invest.”

Meanwhile, the first four shops in the new pop-up store project are Canvvs, a sports footwear customisation platform; Love Cocoa, a sustainable chocolate brand founded by a descendant of the Cadbury founder; luxury linen brand Kindred of Ireland; and British knitwear label Hades.

Part of the Meanwhile On project, the scheme was set up to provide prime-location shops for innovative brands at reduced rent using vacant spaces on Oxford Street.

The three-year campaign by Westminster City Council will set up each brand in a prime store location with significant relief on business rates, budget for store design, and operational and promotional support, along with mentoring from project delivery partner Someday Studios.

The campaign represents a key part of the Westminster City Council’s efforts to revitalise Oxford Street and is part of the council’s Fairer Economy plan for the West End, investing in high streets throughout the borough. More than 800 applications have been received since the campaign was announced last year.

Places for London has provided two units at reduced rent to house Canvvs at 373 Oxford Street. Love Cocoa will open its doors at 36 South Molton Street in the autumn and at Royal London’s 31 Brook Street in July. Kindred of Ireland has taken over space from the Barakat gallery, and Hades will replace Kindred at 31 Brook Street at the start of September.

“We set up our Meanwhile On initiative in a bid to tackle the number of vacant stores and poor-quality offerings. With a huge number of excellent businesses applying, I’m delighted that these first brands are kicking off the project — showcasing innovation, quality, creativity and sustainability,” Barraclough said in a statement.

“By supporting these new small businesses with reduced rent and business rates and promotional and operational support — in the heart of London’s West End — we hope this provides them with a platform for growth and contributes to the diversification and rejuvenation of our high streets, especially Oxford Street.”