Vacancy rates update
Published: 15 February, 2011
New research by The Local Data Company has found that town centre vacancy rates in Great Britain have risen from a national average of 13 per cent at the end of June 2010 to 14.5 per cent in early 2011.
Of the 168,000 shops surveyed, 24,300 units are empty.
With the north/south divide still rife, Rotherham is one of the worst performing towns with a vacancy rate of 28.2 per cent – a rise of 13.7 per cent in six months.
Hugh Pym, chief economics correspondent at the BBC, said: “The national picture is reasonably buoyant but the regional view is different. There’s a real sense of tumble weed blowing down the street.”
Matthew Hopkinson, director of the Local Data Company, believes that medium town centres, those that have between 200 and 400 shops, are at greater risk.
“With increased vacancy, rents will go down because landlords will have to offer better deals and incentives to get people in,” said Barry Gilbertson, partner at PwC. “This means that retailers in secondary areas will be able to afford prime areas.”
The VAT increase and other Government austerity measures, a fall in consumer disposable income and internet sales are all expected to effect vacancy rates in the foreseeable future.
"Some retailers did very well in 2010 but it’s going to be a challenging year," said Pym.
