LUTON retailers have been bucking a national trend by recording increasing sales so far this year.
The Mall Luton achieved a 1.4 per cent increase on last year’s Christmas trading figures despite a 1.1 per cent fall in Christmas consumer spending nationally.
In January, The Mall Luton saw a 0.3 per cent increase in sales while the national figures had declined. The number of people visiting the town centre also increased.
Linsey Frostick, who chairs the Love Luton working group, which is coordinating the bid for city status, said: “These figures demonstrate Luton is already punching above its weight economically. City status would recognise our achievements, and support us to take economic transformation even further, encouraging further inward investment and generating new jobs.”