Loss of high street shops ‘hastened by closures of bank branches’, says survey

BANK BRANCH closures are hastening the loss of local shops on the high street, new research shows.

A survey released by Nottingham Building Society found that 46 per cent of shop owners blame the loss of a local bank branch in the last three years for negatively impacting their business, while 24 per cent said it contributed to them going out of business within the last five years.

Small business owners are suffering as a result of lower footfall, with around 36 per cent of consumers saying they would make fewer visits to their town or vil- lage once their local bank branch closed.

Around 40 per cent said they would make at least three fewer visits a month as a result.

Shop owners in areas affected by branch closures estimate that their annual revenue dropped by an average of 20 per cent after the bank shut its doors. It also found that 26 per cent were looking at moving their businesses to a new area or smaller premises nearby, while 31 per cent say they are considering shutting their high street stores and operating solely online. The survey noted that 15 per cent were mulling job cuts.

Gary Womersley, head of branch network for Nottingham Building Society, said: “Financial institutions play a major role in local high streets drawing customers to shops and boosting sales and business.

“This is particularly true in market towns, where much of our focus is placed. Sadly, there are now as many as 1,500 towns in the UK that used to have branches but no longer do.”

A Government report released earlier this year shows that 1,270 bank branches were closed between 2014 and 2017, with 650 cut last year alone.

Further closures have since been announced by the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland, which has confirmed it will close 162 branches across England and Wales. Lloyds earlier this year also announced plans to shut 49 branches across its Lloyds and Halifax brands.