LONDON's Old Bond Street is officially the most expensive street in Europe in terms of retail space. Despite not being much more that 500 feet long, the street - which is favoured by jewellers and the world's biggest fashion labels - has seen rental prices reach £838 per square foot annually, way ahead of the continent's other shopping capitals.

Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich came second with annual rents of £599 per square foot per year, followed by the Champs Elysées in Paris, Milan's Via Monte Napoleone and Moscow's Stoleshnikov Lane. Streets in Rome, Geneva, Vienna, Munich, Berlin and Stuttgart (the last two tied) rounded out the top 10.

"London is still the signature location for any brand that aspires to international luxury status," Paul Souber - head of central London retail at Colliers International, the property adviser that compiled the results - told the Evening Standard. "At present, demand for prime London locations seems insatiable and even the headline rental levels achieved by new lettings do not tell the whole story about just how strong demand is."

London still lags behind the world's most expensive streets, however, with New York's Fifth Avenue and Hong Kong's Causeway Bay leading the way.