British towns have lost 6,000 retail outlets over the past five years, according to a new report.
The shop unit vacancies monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company shows that the biggest 650 towns in England, Scotland and Wales have lost a combined 6,000 shops, restaurants and other businesses from high streets, shopping centres and retail parks since 2018.
“Crippling business rates” and the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns were a key part of many decisions to close stores and think twice about new openings, said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
In the second quarter of 2023, vacancy rates across Britain reached 13.9%, compared with 13.8% in the first quarter and 14% in the second quarter of last year.
“The headline findings from Q2 are unlikely to have come as a surprise to anyone, with economic pressure from rising interest rates and inflation already mounting as the year began,” said Lucy Stainton, director of Local Data Company. “Current challenges to businesses have been compounded by tightening discretionary spend and a dip in confidence among consumers. The economic headwinds that have made the headlines have filtered into the data, reflected in a slight rise in the overall vacancy rate.”
Dickinson urged the UK government to review the business rates system to help the retail sector, and called for a freezing of rate bills in 2024.
“Currently, there’s an additional £400m going on retailers’ bills next April, which will put a brake on the vital investment that our towns and cities so desperately need.”
