High street shops take £22bn hit

Lockdown measures have cost non-food retailers around £22billion in lost sales since the start of the pandemic, according to new figures.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the closureofnon-essentialstores and distancing restrictions have hit high streets hard over the past 12 months and wants Government action on business rates, rent sand grants ahead of the Chancellor's spring budget next month.

It has called for an extension to the current business rates holiday which is due to expire at the end of March.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: "An extension to the business rates relief and moratorium on debt enforcement would relieve struggling businesses of bills they cannot currently pay and allow them to trade their way to recovery.”