UK high street vacancies rate rises to highest in 4 years

The national town centre vacancy rate hit 10.2% in April, reaching its highest level since 2015, revealed the latest analysis from the British Retail Consortium.

According to the report, one in 10 shops in the UK are empty and some high streets are “trapped in a downward spiral”.

Businesses are under pressure from spiralling rates and the Apprenticeship Levy, together with other factors, which according to the report makes physical space less cost effective.

The state of the high street is only made worse by the response from struggling retailers, shifting to online sales and cutting back on their physical footprint, even as the number of shoppers slipped by 0.5% versus a year ago.

The BRC’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson said: “Empty shop fronts, particularly for larger stores, can deter shoppers from an area. This effect can be cyclical, with the long-term decline in footfall pushing up vacancy rates, particularly in poorer areas.”

“For many retailers, business rates remain the single biggest tax imposed by Government. They are a levy on physical space that is paid in full regardless of whether a firm is in profit or in loss. Importantly, they are also borne disproportionately by retailers who represent 5% of the economy yet pay 25% of all Business Rates. If the Government is serious about reversing the decline on our high streets, then reforming the broken Business Rates system would be an essential first step,” she proposed.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director of Springboard said: “However, the superb weather over Easter clearly delivered a boost to coastal towns and historic cities, magnets for domestic and overseas tourists, both of which saw footfall rise in April; by +1.8% in coastal towns and +0.7% in regional cities.

“In part this will have accounted for the greater than average decline in footfall in Greater London (-1.6%) and the South East (-1.5%); a higher exodus of residents from these regions over Easter is a long-established trend, further amplified this year as the hot and sunny weather was forecast well in advance, enabling the necessary forward planning for trips.”