Record rents for Covent Garden were broken twice this week.
Fossil, an American retailer, has agreed terms with Lothbury Property Trust to take 29 James Street, WC2 for its flagship store at £520 zone A.
It is the first time the £500 mark has been broken in Covent Garden. Fossil will pay £296,500 for 133m2 (1,435 sq ft) on a 15-year lease.
It also paid a £150,000 premium after Lothbury took a surrender of the lease from Pied à Terre.
Earlier in the week, Jesiré, a Hong Kong-based fashion retailer, took a 15-year lease at 28 James Street, after Lothbury took a surrender from the Poster Shop.
It will pay a rental of £275,000 pa for 111m2 (1,190 sq ft), reflecting £490 zone A, and was one of six overseas retailers to bid for the store.
Timothy Legge, of Lothbury’s adviser Atlantic Fund Management, said: “These deals show that the retail sector is not stagnant. James Street should not be just another high street – it should be a destination retail location.”
Until now, both retailers had predominantly concentrated on concession counters in stores such as Fenwick, John Lewis and House of Fraser.
Jesiré was represented by Blanchflower Lloyd Baxter and Harper Dennis Hobbs acted for Fossil.
