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Great Britain vacancy rate rises to 14.5% in Q2 2021 from 14.1% in Q1
30 Jul '21
2 min read
Pic: Shutterstock
In the second quarter of 2021, the overall Great Britain vacancy rate increased to 14.5 per cent from 14.1 per cent in the first, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which today said the figure was 2.1 percentage points higher than the figure during the same duration last year. It is now over three years of increasing vacancy rates, starting from the first quarter of 2018.
All locations saw an increase in vacancies in Q2, with shopping centre vacancies increasing to 19.4 per cent from Q1’s 18.4 per cent.
On the High Street, vacancies increased to 14.5 per cent in Q2, remaining in line with the overall rate. This was up from 14.1 per cent in Q1.
Retail park vacancies increased slightly to 11.5 per cent in Q2 2021, up from 10.6 per cent in Q1.
“Almost one in five shopping centre units now lie empty, and more than one in eight units have been empty for more than a year. Retail parks have also been impacted from the loss of anchor stores and their vacancy rate is rising quickly. The regional contrast is stark—the south of England, including London have seen lower vacancy rates, while the North, where disposable income is lower, continues to have a higher proportion of closed shops,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson in a press release.
“The vacancy rate could rise further now the COVID-19 business rates holiday has come to an end. The government must ensure the ongoing business rates review leads to reform of this broken system, delivering on its commitment to permanently reduce the cost burden to sustainable levels. The longer the current system persists, the more jobs losses and vacant shops we will see, hurting staff, customers and communities up and down the country,” she added.
All locations saw an increase in vacancies in Q2, with shopping centre vacancies increasing to 19.4 per cent from Q1’s 18.4 per cent.
On the High Street, vacancies increased to 14.5 per cent in Q2, remaining in line with the overall rate. This was up from 14.1 per cent in Q1.
Retail park vacancies increased slightly to 11.5 per cent in Q2 2021, up from 10.6 per cent in Q1.
“Almost one in five shopping centre units now lie empty, and more than one in eight units have been empty for more than a year. Retail parks have also been impacted from the loss of anchor stores and their vacancy rate is rising quickly. The regional contrast is stark—the south of England, including London have seen lower vacancy rates, while the North, where disposable income is lower, continues to have a higher proportion of closed shops,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson in a press release.
“The vacancy rate could rise further now the COVID-19 business rates holiday has come to an end. The government must ensure the ongoing business rates review leads to reform of this broken system, delivering on its commitment to permanently reduce the cost burden to sustainable levels. The longer the current system persists, the more jobs losses and vacant shops we will see, hurting staff, customers and communities up and down the country,” she added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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