A new study shows rents in Buchanan Street have hit GBP260 per square foot per year, meaning it is now in the top 10 of UK shopping districts.

By contrast, Edinburgh's Princes Street continues to be hit by the tram-line works, with rents falling by more than 10per cent. The going rate is GBP210 per sq ft per year now in Princes Street. The figures come from real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield, which monitored 274 of the world's most prestigious shopping streets.

Rents in Scotland are still far behind the leader, London's New Bond Street, which stand at GBP775 per sq ft per year.

While Buchanan Street rents have dropped by 3per cent over the past year, that figure is less than anywhere else in the UK except the British capital.

In London, retail hotspots New Bond Street and Oxford Street saw rents rise.

Glasgow is at number 10 behind four locations in London, as well as Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds and Cardiff.

Stuart Moncur, head of retail at Cushman & Wakefield in Scotland, said: "Buchanan Street continues to attract retailer interest principally due to its flagship store status, significant footfall levels and prestigious address. It is no surprise it is the second-strongest retailing location in the UK after the West End of London.

"Although there is a great deal of development activity within the city centre with the extension to the St Enoch Centre and plans to increase the size of Buchanan Galleries, many retailers still wish a presence on Buchanan Street.

"Princes Street in Edinburgh continues to suffer from the tram-line works, which are making it difficult for people to move around the street and this is having a negative impact on the performance of many retailers."

Glasgow's Buchanan Street is home to big names including House of Fraser, Topshop. Molton Brown and North Face. A GBP300,000 initiative was launched last month to ensure the city retains its title as the best place to shop outside London.

Style Mile aims to help the city centre beat competition from out-of-town shopping centres, attract tourists and fight off the recession. City centre ambassadors to help locals and tourists have been recruited.

Meanwhile, New York's Fifth Avenue remained the world's most expensive retail address, a position it has held for eight years - though rents dropped there by 8per cent this year. However it still costs GBP1061 per sq ft a year to rent a space alongside shops such as Tiffany & Co.

The UK's ten most expensive shopping streets 1 London: New Bond Street 2 London: Covent Garden 3 London: Oxford Street 4 London: Brompton Road 5 Birmingham: High Street 6 Newcastle: Northumberland Street 7 Manchester: Market Square 8 Leeds: Commercial Street 9 Cardiff: Queens Street 10 Glasgow: Buchanan Street...

and the rest of the world's 1 USA: New York, 5th Avenue 2 China: Hong Kong, Causeway Bay 3 France: Paris, Champs Elysees 4 Italy: Milan, Via Montenapoleone 5 Japan: Tokyo, Ginza 6 UK: London, New Bond Street 7 Switzerland: Zurich, Bahnhofstrasse 8 Ireland: Dublin, Grafton Street 9 Germany: Munich, Kaufingerstrasse 10 Australia: Sydney, Pitt Street Mall.