But the figures compare with a poor performance last year when like-for-like sales fell 8.9 per cent following the London bombings. The three-month growth rate rose to 10.6 per cent from 10.1 per cent in June.
London sales outperformed the rest of the country for the ninth consecutive month. Footfall was up in July and the hot weather helped increase sale of food and drink, summer fashions and outdoor living. But there was less interest in homewares and big-ticket items.
KPMG head of retail Helen Dickinson said: 'High levels of promotional activity ensured that higher footfall was converted into sales uplifts. However, London's retailers, like those across the rest of the UK, continue to suffer the impact of lower margins (because of heavy discounting) and hence reduced profitability to achieve such sales growth.'
LRC director Kevin Hawkins said: 'These results are encouraging, although July 2005 was a disaster for central London retailers, so the weak comparative needs to be taken into account. The impact of recent terrorist activity, however, has yet to be felt, so extreme caution is needed when assessing the prospects for the next few months.'
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