Landsec - owner of the UK’s leading retail and hospitality platform - has delivered a strong Golden Quarter, with sales and footfall up year-on-year and performance 5% above BRC benchmarks.

Landsec’s prime shopping destinations maintained healthy consumer demand, exceeding last year’s impressive figures and pulling further ahead of market averages. 

This year, total Golden Quarter sales rose 4.9% year-on-year, significantly outperforming the national retail benchmark, which fell by 0.2%. During the three peak Christmas shopping weeks, sales were up 6.5% year-on-year. 

Footfall across Landsec’s major shopping centres and outlets also rose by 0.7% over the quarter, compared with the national benchmark of -0.3% across the wider market, supported by strong seasonal momentum.

The strong performance during the Golden Quarter continues a trend seen in Landsec’s retail destinations in recent years. Since FY22, its retail destinations have seen cumulative sales growth of 20%, outperforming the UK national average by 17ppt.

Health & beauty and clothing remained the strongest-performing categories across Landsec’s major retail destinations, supported by strong consumer demand and continued investment in bricks-and-mortar stores from leading brands. For example, four out of six of Sephora’s new store openings in the UK over the past 12 months have been in Landsec destinations. Health & beauty increased +13% in total sales while clothing grew +5%.

Leisure and hospitality also played a key role in performance, with +6.2% growth in sales. This category also played a key role in increasing dwell times across Landsec’s centres, reinforcing the importance of Landsec’s experience-led strategy in supporting retail spend and repeat visits. 

Bruce Findlay, Managing Director of Retail at Landsec, said: “Consumers continue to seek out destinations which combine a wide selection of the best brands with best in class experiences. This was certainly true during the Golden Quarter with sales and footfall for prime retail once again ahead of the wider market. With a reach of one in four UK consumers, we offer brands more footfall than any other retail platform. By combining this reach with the powerful data insights available to us, we’re creating a self-reinforcing growth engine that delivers higher sales and attracts the world’s best brands.”

“Alongside a strong leisure and hospitality offer, we provide compelling, experience-led retail environments, positioning us well for continued success as we look ahead to 2026.”