North-South divide on store closures
The number of shops closing across the UK is slowing but the North is faring significantly worse than the South, a study has found.
Town centre vacancy rates have risen from just over 12 per cent at the end of 2009 to 13 per cent at the end of June, according to the Local Data Company. Southern cities are coping far better, with Bristol having half the vacancy rate of Blackpool, the worst affected large centre with almost 30 per cent of shops closed.