PICCADILLY CIRCUS is to get a new advertiser on its famous brightly-lit hoardings after Sanyo decided to quit.
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The site’s owners, Land Securities, are now on the look out for a big name brand to fill the gap soon to be left by the Japanese electronics giant.
Any would-be buyer is likely to have to shell out tens of millions a year to secure the spot, especially as top London tourists sites are soon likely to get more exposure than usual thanks to the London Olympics in 2012.
“This really is a very rare opportunity for a brand to become part of the London landscape,” said Tim Allibone, asset manager for the London Portfolio at Land Securities.
“Whoever is fortunate enough to secure the available space, will benefit from a huge influx of tourists anticipated to come to London in the next couple of years in addition to the usual 56 million pedestrians and passengers which pass by every year.”
Sanyo has been one of the main brand names on Piccadilly Circus since 1978. It is the last of the major advertisers at the Circus to stay loyal to neon as other brands have switched to LED in recent years.
