Overall retail vacancy rates in the UK have fallen for the third consecutive quarter, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The vacancy rate dropped to 14.0% in the second quarter (Q2) of this year, but improved by 0.1% compared with the previous quarter (Q1) and 0.5% from the same period of last year. 

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

During the quarter, vacancy rates in shopping centres declined to 18.9%, down from 19.0% in Q1 2022, while high street vacancies also decreased to 14.0%, improving slightly from 14.1% in the prior quarter.

The South East, London and the East of England recorded the lowest vacancy rates, while the North East posted the highest regional rates, followed by Wales and Scotland.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Vacancy rates continued to travel in the right direction, with the third consecutive quarter of improvement, though rates remain almost two percentage points above pre-pandemic levels.

See Also:

“There remains a significant North-South divide, with the North of England, along with Scotland and Wales, having a higher proportion of empty shops, though this gap is narrowing, with greater improvement being seen in Northern England.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“Vacancy rates tend to lag behind other metrics in responding to economic changes, meaning that the vacancy rate is likely to improve further – slowly returning towards pre-pandemic levels.”

A survey by the BRC last year showed that more than 80% of retailers said they were ‘likely’ or ‘certain’ to have to close shops if the burden of business rates was not lowered.

Last month, data from the group revealed that total retail footfall in the UK for last month declined by 10.5% on a year-on-three-years basis.

Footfall in the country improved by 2% from May and was above the three-month average decline of 11.8%.