Cafés and takeaways are increasingly moving into the country’s high streets, while shop closures are at their lowest level in five years, a study for PwC by the Local Data Company shows.
The closure rate fell to 13 a day from a 2012 peak of 20. In total, 5,138 stores closed and 4,640 opened, giving a net loss of 498. Ladies’ fashion retailers and banks accounted for most of the closures.
The report warns that Brantano’s administration and plans by Dixons Carphone to combine stores could mean more empty high-street stores in the current year.
