Once the financial hub of an empire, the Royal Exchange building, opposite the Bank of England, is now home to a rather impressive collection of boutiques. It has been transformed into a shopping mall with a difference. Few are as imposing. Round the back, by the tradesmen’s entrance, can be found the latest company-owned Leica Store which opened last month. Fittingly, it is right opposite the statue of the father of modern news gathering, Ernst Reuter.