The overall GB store vacancy rate fell to 14.4% In the fourth quarter of 2021, 0.1 percentage points below the third quarter level, the latest figures from the Local Data Company (LDC) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveal.
However, the data shows the vacancy rate was 0.7 percentage points higher than during the same period in 2020.
On the High Street, vacancies improved slightly to 14.4% in the fourth quarter – in line with the overall rate.
Shopping centre vacancies also improved to 19.1% for the fourth quarter, a 0.3 percentage point improvement on the third quarter, but 2.0% higher than the same point in 2020.
Lucy Stainton, LDC Director, said: “It is very encouraging to see the increase in empty units finally stabilising after such a sharp rise over the past two years. This is the first real indication that the most significant structural impacts of the pandemic are potentially at their peak for certain regions, and operators, landlords and local government alike can start to rebuild after a particularly turbulent period.
“We are still seeing rationalisation across many of the chain retailers and leisure operators reflected in these latest statistics, but the growth in the number of independent businesses is helping stem further increases in vacant units.”
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, added: “The lowest vacancy rates were seen in the south – where higher disposable income and greater business investment meant vacant storefronts were more quickly repurposed. Meanwhile, Scotland and the north continue to see much higher vacancy rates, with the northeast at almost one in five shops closed. It remains to be seen how Omicron will have impacted the number of store closures, but given the third lockdown in England had little impact on the vacancy rate, we are hopeful that the trajectory will remain positive.”
