Retail vacancies continue to rise
Published: 10 September, 2010
New research from the Local Data Company shows voids are still on the increase, and the picture is worse in the North of the country than in the South
Town centre vacancy rates in Great Britain have risen from just over 12 per cent at the end of 2009, to 13 per cent at the end of June 2010, with the retail markets at their weakest in many large northern and Midland cities. Blackpool is listed as the hardest-hit centre with a 30 per cent vacancy rate.
By contrast the big centres in London and the South East particularly are holding up well. Of the 63 large centres analysed, ten centres showed an improvement over the six months to the half-year, and only eight of these showed a consistent improvement over the year. These improvers include Bath, Guildford, Central London, Cardiff and Liverpool.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “It is encouraging to see high streets recovering in the South, but that glimmer of positive news does not hide the fact that retail markets elsewhere are struggling, and that consumer confidence is still fragile.”
And sehe warned: “Filling empty shops will never be easy or quick. Both banks and landlords need to show a proactive approach to managing property, while local authorities have a key role to play in promoting flexibility and innovation in areas suffering from a high number of vacancies.
