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Colliers retail report reveals Yorkshire High Street troubles

A soon to be published property report has revealed that the number of empty shops on the high street across Yorkshire and the Humber continues to increase.

Currently the region has a vacancy rate of around 17.5%, higher than the national average of 14.5% and 1% higher than the North East.

However global property company, Colliers International, which produces the annual Midsummer Retail Report, predicts that the high street will gradually recover over the next seven years and by 2020 the number of empty shops nationally will have fallen from its current level of 12% (of total floor space) to about 7%.

Greg Styles, head of retail development at Colliers International, and based in Leeds, said: “This recovery will be selective with the major city centres, such as Leeds and Sheffield, seeing the greatest reduction in empty shops and the medium sized centres seeing the least.

“The recovery will largely be driven by a significant increase in the GB population (3.3 million additional people to 2020) and modest economic and expenditure growth.

“Another factor will be internet sales, which are currently about 13% of all non-food expenditure, that are likely to rise to about 20% nationally by 2020.

“After this, the rate of growth levels off and, therefore, online sales will no longer be as much as a threat to high street as by then, successful retailers will have aligned their internet and property strategies.”

Despite the boost of Trinity Leeds opening this year, retail rents in Yorkshire and the Humber remain 5% below the GB weighted average having declined 20% over the last five years from £155 to £125.

Encouragingly however the decline from 2012 to 2013 was just 2.1%.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .