Valentine’s Day romance pays off for West End

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Figures today showed shop sales in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street were 12.2% higher in February than a year earlier.

West End hotels, theatres and cinemas also reported record trading on the weekend of Valentine's Day.

It was a welcome boost for business in the capital, which had a dismal January as the hangover from Christmas and cold weather stifled demand.

Jace Tyrrell, a spokesman for the New West End Company which carried out the research, said: "Valentine's Day continues to gather steam. It is always good news when Valentine's Day falls on a weekend, so this year's Sunday celebrations proved positive."

The capital, and the West End in particular, fared better than the rest of the country for much of the recession as Londoners continued to splash out and visitors flock in to take advantage of the weak pound.

Hotels reported strong demand for Valentine's Day. Sales of suites at The Langham on Portland Place rose 23%.

"Our restaurants and bars were also very busy with breakfast through to afternoon tea and dinner sold out well in advance of Valentine's weekend," said Mario Bounas, spokesman at The Langham.

Ewan Venters, director of food and restaurants at Selfridges, said: "Valentine's Day was a real success this year with sales up by 30% year-on-year.

"Confectionery as always was exceptionally popular, but this year we also saw great sales figures for fresh fish, fresh meat and cheese, perhaps indicating that many people were preparing meals at home rather than eating out."

Beverley Aspinall, managing director of Fortnum and Mason, said: "Fortnum's has always focused on celebrations, ranging from birthdays, anniversaries, through to Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day and Hallowe'en.

"After Christmas, Easter is our second biggest peak, but the other occasions such as Valentine's Day and Halloween have been gaining rapidly. Popular products include hampers, confectionery, biscuits and cakes."