Legions of “Brexit tourists” flocked to the UK to take advantage of the weak pound over Christmas, triggering a huge rise in spending on foreign credit cards.
Foreign shoppers spent more than £725m on the British high street during December, up 22% or an extra £130m compared to the previous year, according to payments processing firm Worldpay.
Bargain-hunters from Hong Kong were the biggest spenders, closely followed by visitors from the United States, United Arab Emirates and mainland China.
Worldpay put the rise in foreign shoppers down to the slump in the value of sterling, which has fallen 18% against the dollar and 12% against the euro since the UK voted to leave the European Union.
The fall has burnished the UK’s international image as a shopping destination because it makes goods cheaper for foreigners changing their domestic currency into pounds.
Worldpay’s chief marketing officer, James Frost, said overseas visitors had helped offset the impact of British people shunning the high street in favour of shopping online.
“Bricks and mortar retailers have not had things all their own way this Christmas, with the latest reports suggesting UK consumers are increasingly doing the bulk of their shopping online.
“So the influx of free-spending tourists we saw in December will have been a welcome boost for retailers looking to balance the books.”
He added: “UK retail centres, including London’s West End, are a magnet for visitors from all over the world, made all the more attractive by the bargains on offer as a result of the weakened pound.”
December also proved a strong month for upmarket hospitality group D&D, which owns restaurants including Quaglino’s in London and Crafthouse in Leeds.
Its UK revenues were up 7% on a like-for-like basis, stripping out the impact of new restaurant openings, while sales were up 14% on New Year’s Eve, rounding off what it called a “topsy-turvy” year.
But the chairman and chief executive, Des Gunewardena, warned that the hospitality group, which also owns restaurants in New York, Paris and Tokyo, was expecting a tough 2017 due to Brexit.
“Despite an excellent end to 2016 we have no illusions about how challenging 2017 is likely to be, with continuing worries about Brexit and cost inflation on all fronts,” he said.
