Shop vacancies stable at 14.5 percent

Published 08th Sep 2011

Shop vacancy rates stabilised at 14.5 percent in the first half of 2011, although the gap between the best and worst performing towns widened, a report said on Thursday.

"Whilst the good news is that the three fold increase in vacancy rates since 2007 has stopped, the fact remains that in the extreme centres one in three shops stands vacant yet others remain at pre-recession levels," the Local Data Company (LDC)said.

Stockport, near Manchester, had the highest vacancy rate in June for a large centre at 27.7 percent, while Bromley, south east London, had the lowest at 9.0 percent.

The LDC said the current situation was unlikely to improve significantly in the medium term due to the poor economic climate, the rise of alternative sales channels and the number of shops the country has.

"The stark reality is that Britain has too many shops in the wrong locations and of the wrong size," said LDC director Matthew Hopkinson.

"The market still has significant corrections ahead and the impact of these will vary significantly according to location."

Source: ' Reuters '

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