Retail failures push shop 
vacancies to a record high

The percentage of empty shops in April worsened from 10.9 per cent in January and was the highest rate since the British Retail Consortium/Springboard survey began in 2011. High streets have been “vastly outperforming” shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks, boosted by a five per cent increase in evening drinkers, diners and clubbers.

The retail sector has been battered by a wave of failures this year, with entertainment retailer HMV and camera chain Jessops both entering administration in January. Electricals retailer Comet slumped into administration in November.

BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: “It’s a major concern that the vacancy rate has reached a record high, driven by increases in almost every part of the UK, with some regions like the South West seeing a significant leap in empty shop numbers.”

But rising temperatures lifted April footfall in the UK one per cent on a year earlier, a marked improvement on the 5.2 per cent fall in March, as more shoppers ventured out compared with a rainy April 2012. In the North and Yorkshire, footfall rose 0.5 per cent year-on-year.

Ms Dickinson added: “The unsettled weather at the start of the month seems to have created pent-up demand, which brought many of us out to shop when more spring-like weather finally made an appearance.”

UK high street footfall was up 3.4 per cent, the strongest performance since December 2011, but shopping centre visitors fell three per cent.

Diane Wehrle, retail insights director at Springboard, said: “This disparity is partly due to the fact that many of the high-profile retail failures – reflected in the increased vacancy rate – have been located in malls, creating holes in their retail frontages which have adversely affected their attractiveness to shoppers.

“The resilience of high streets is also likely to be a function of their diversity, as they have an offer that spans more than just retail.”

Footfall in Northern Ireland slumped 6.4 per cent year-on-year in April, while its shop vacancy rate hit 18.1 per cent. In Wales, shoppers were down 2.1 per cent, with a vacancy rate of 17.9 per cent. The South West saw footfall slide 1.3 per cent and shop vacancies hit 14 per cent.

Greater London was the strongest performing region with footfall rising 4.2 per cent and just 7.4 per cent of its shops vacant.

The UK’s surging vacancy rate follows recent downbeat sales figures from the BRC which showed retail sales slumped at the fastest rate for a year in April as the timing of Easter and a freezing start to the month offset improvements in fashion and beauty.