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Shop vacancies remain stable

Shop vacancies increased slightly in March, although town centre vacancy rates in Great Britain are still below 14.5% for the sixth month in a row.

The findings come from the Local Data Company’s monthly shop vacancy barometer, showing a marginal increase of 0.02%.

Matthew Hopkinson, director at the Local Data Company warned there was still a number of empty shops across town centres equivalent to central London having every shop empty.

He said: Another stable month for GB shop vacancy is not insignificant in that we have now had 6 consecutive months that the rate has been below the all time high of 14.6% in August and September of 2012. We have yet to see the rate go below 14% which was last seen in July 2010.

“This along with the macro economic environment implies that for the time being this is the new norm unless we see significant negative churn from the 67% of units occupied by independents or more large chain failures.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .