UK physical retailers pretty vacant as coronavirus bites
The overall GB shop vacancy rate increased to 13.7%, from 13.2% in Q3, according to research by the British Retail Consortium and Local Data Company.
It was 1.6 percentage points higher than the same point in 2019. This was the tenth consecutive quarter of increasing vacancy rates.
All locations saw an increase in Q4, with shopping centres rising to 17.1% from Q3’s 16.3%. On the high street, vacancies increased to 13.7% in Q4, up from 13.3% in Q3. Retail parks went up to 10%, compared with 9.2% in Q3.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the BRC, says: “With the country in and out of coronavirus lockdown, the forced closures of thousands of shops, and consumers reluctant to visit town and city centres, it is unsurprising that the number of shuttered stores continues to rise.”
“Over the past two years, one in every 50 outlets has permanently closed, and this number will only go up. The big increase in vacancy rates during the crucial golden retail quarter, when demand is usually high, serves as a stark reminder of the pandemic’s impact.”
She adds: “Social restrictions and their knock on effect on consumer appetite for fashion, has meant that shopping centres are still faring the worst due to their high proportion of clothing outlets. What’s more, due to economic uncertainty, many retailers have paused their plans for future investment in new stores.”
Dickinson is calling on the UK government to extend business rates relief beyond April, providing additional targeted financial support to the hardest hit retailers, and extend the moratorium of aggressive debt enforcement.
Without these interventions, she argues, not only will retail firms go under, but the vibrancy of town centres and local communities across the country will be lost.
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