THE SHOCKING scale of the crisis for Britain’s worst high streets has been revealed as up to 20 per cent of stores now lie empty.
The North East has suffered the highest rate of shuttered shops in the UK, according to the British Retail Consortium.
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Vacancies are highest in shopping centres and high streets, while retail parks fare slightly better.
It comes amid a backdrop of Covid-19 lockdowns and rising inflation.
Shoppers aren’t spending as much on Britain’s high streets as their wallets empty quicker than they used to.
And retailers are closing shops as a direct result.
The highest vacancy rate is in the North East at 17.5 per cent, Wales at 16.5 per cent and the West Midlands at 15.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the fewest empty shops are in London at 11.1 per cent, the South East at 11.3 per cent and the East at 12.8 per cent.
Overall 13.8 per cent of the UK’s shops are currently stood empty.
Some 17,145 shops closed for good last year – the equivalent of an average of 45 a day, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
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This was up almost 50 per cent on the 11,449 shuttered shops in 2021.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “The vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2023 saw no improvement as cost pressures made many retailers think twice about investing in new stores.
“Despite shopping centres holding the highest proportion of empty units compared to other locations, it saw the largest quarterly occupancy increase thanks to the success of outlets as well as recent efforts to repurpose empty units, especially in the North East.”
It comes as high street giants feel the pinch as shoppers cut back on their spending due to soaring inflation.
Stationery shop Paperchase fell into administration in February and shut all of its stores two months later.
Supermarket giant Tesco stepped up to buy the rights to the brand, but not its shops.
M&Co also bought the shutters down on all of its 170 shops on April 22.
Iceland has already shut the doors on more than half a dozen shops, with more closures on the way.
B&M has announced its Bishop Auckland branch will shut on May 5.
Frankie and Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) revealed in March that it is considering shutting 35 sites over the next two years.
The Sun has so far spotted three Frankie and Benny’s restaurants listed for sale by estate agents Savills.
In December 2022, pub chain Wetherspoons announced it would be closing a total of 39 pubs after being hit by soaring inflation.
Plus burger chain Byron Burger fell into administration, immediately closing nine of its branches.
Prezzo is to close 46 branches after being hit hard by soaring energy and food costs.
The Italian restaurant chain has said about 810 workers are at risk of redundancy as part of the overhaul.
The four remaining standalone Cath Kidston stores are also set to close after Next agreed to buy it out of administration.
If you want to know more about store closures, you can read our full list of high street chains closing for good this year.
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