Crippling taxation and covid lockdowns have forced 23 shops to close every week in the past five years.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is claimig that 6,000 retail shops have disappeared from the UK’s high streets since 2018.
According to The Telegraph:
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said “crippling business rates and the impact of covid lockdowns are a key part of decisions to close stores and think twice about new openings.”
Business rates are based on shop rental values and paid by tenants rather than property owners. Business rates are on course to rise by up to 30pc next April.
The BRC said vacancy rates had also climbed from 11.1pc in 2018 to 13.9pc in the second quarter of 2023, although they are down from a peak of 14.5pc in 2021.
Ms Dickinson said: “To inject more vibrancy into high streets and town centres, and prevent further store closures, the Government should review the broken business rates system.
“Currently, there’s an additional £400m going on retailers’ bills next April, which will put a brake on the vital investment that our towns and cities so desperately need. The Government should go one step further and freeze rates bills next year.”
She added: “The North and Midlands continue to see the highest amount of empty storefronts. London’s vacancy rate remains the lowest, improving over the last quarter thanks to the opening of new flagship stores, more office workers, and tourists visiting the capital.”
Soaring prices have hammered household budgets, forcing families to cut back spending on big ticket items like fridges and televisions. Food prices also remain high, rising at an annual pace of 17.9pc in the year to June, according to official figures.
Headline inflation has fallen significantly from last October’s peak of 11.1pc and is now at a 15-month low of 7.9pc. But it remains almost four-times the Bank of England’s 2pc target.
