Rise in shops ly ing vacant

THE number of empty shops in town centres has ‘spiked’ in recent months, say researchers.

Vacancy rates on Scotland’s high streets have increased from 7.5 per cent in July to 9.2 per cent last month.

This is despite the number of empty properties in the rest of the UK dropping slightly from 10.1 per cent to 9.5 per cent in the same period,

Experts say this is due to ‘pop-up shops’ opening in the lead-up to Christmas, but town centres north of the Border do not seem to have enjoyed the benefits.

Footfall has also dropped by 0.1 per cent since October 2015 but online retailing and click-and-collect services continue to grow, and this looks likely to go on during the festive season, according to the latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)/Springboard monitor.

David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, said: ‘The spike in the shop vacancy rate is a cause for concern. The increase in the number of empty shops is an unwelcome reminder of the heavy burden of property costs.’

Mr Lonsdale said escalating property costs and business rates would have an‘ investments ap ping’ impact on communities. He urged Chancellor Philip Hammond and Finance

‘Heavy burden of property costs’

Secretary Derek Mackay to produce ‘convincing action to lift consumer spirits’ in the upcoming Autumn Statement and Scottish Budget.

Earlier this year experts predicted Scotland would head for recession if the downward trend in footfall and rise in shop vacancies continued. The Scottish Government has tried to blame Brexit for the country’s economic woes, but growth had stalled before the EU vote, with the full effects of the decision yet to be felt.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said that while high streets and shopping centres are seeing a drop in footfall, retail parks have seen an increase of 2.6 per cent – above the UK average of 1.1 per cent growth.

Competition and Markets Authority figures show the number of closed bank branches is also increasing faster than the rest of the UK – a reduction of 7.7 per cent compared to 5 per cent in England between 2013 and 2014, raising further fears about the impact on high streets.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have a clear focus on supporting business and encouraging economic growth.

‘Our Small Business Bonus Scheme, for example, has helped ease the tax burden of thousands of small retailers in high streets up and down Scotland.’