3 minute read
Store Vacancies
by 55 North
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE: BRC/ LDC
Store vacancies continue to rise
SHOP VACANCIES HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW, ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT, WITH BIG DISPARITIES IN VACANCY RATES BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH
Shop vacancies increased to 14.5% in the second quarter of 2021, from 14.1% in the first quarter, new data reveals.
The latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company (LDC) shop vacancy monitor shows all locations saw an increase in vacancies in the second quarter. On the high street, vacancies increased to 14.5% from 14.1%, and shopping centre vacancies increased to 19.4% from 18.4% in the first quarter.
The UK has now seen more than three years of increasing vacancy rates, from the first quarter of 2018.
The report highlights the disparity in vacancy rates between the southern regions and those towards the north, with only Scotland bucking the trend. In the second quarter London had the lowest level of vacancies across all regions once again, with the North East also seeing the highest.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of British Retail Consortium, said: “It comes as no surprise that the number of shuttered stores in the UK continues to rise, after retailers have been in and out of lockdown for over a year. While vacancy rates are rising across all retail locations, it is shopping centres, with a high proportion of fashion retailers, that have been the hardest hit by the pandemic. Almost one in five shopping centre units now lie empty, and more than one in eight units have been empty for more than a year.”
She added: “The vacancy rate could rise further now the Covid-19 business rates holiday has come to an end. The government must ensure the ongoing business rates review leads to reform of this broken system, delivering on its commitment to permanently reduce the cost burden to sustainable levels. The longer the current system persists, the more jobs losses and vacant shops we will see, hurting staff, customers and communities up and down the country.”
Lucy Stainton, Director at Local Data Company, said: “Vacancy across GB high streets, retail parks and shopping centres continued to rise in the second quarter, however the increase was half that of the same period in 2020, alluding to the fact that, like the pandemic, there is hope that we are over the worst. After an initial flurry of CVAs, closures due to consumer behaviour shifts and cost-cutting exercises, retailers are now starting to dust themselves off with cautious optimism, keeping a close eye on the rapidly changing infection rate and the pa which vaccinations are taking pl two measures that could seriously d recovery efforts should they not g the right direction.
“Vacancy now sits at the hig rate ever recorded by the Local Data Company. With appetite for new space increasing but still modest, there will simply never be enough demand to meet the supply. The property market will be forced to think of more creative ways to utilise this space, to avoid exacerbating the already high rates of long-term voids across our retail destinations which are not only unsightly and costly for landlords, but also have a negative impact on surrounding stores.”
Retail trade union Usdaw has expressed its “deep concern” over the figures and is continuing to call for the government to work with it and employers to develop an industrial strategy for retail.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary, said: “With over 180,000 jobs lost across the industry last year and 200,000 predicted for this year, we need immediate action from the government to reduce rents and rates for high street retailers, alongside levelling the playing field with an online sales tax. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed many retailers and retail workers to breaking point, so we need government measures to be equally significant.”
SHOP VACANCIES
STATS
14.5% vacancy rate
180,000 retail job losses in last year
200,000 predicted job losses this year
