Britain’s high streets are expected to permanently change as landlords seek to convert abandoned shops into offices and flats.
Nearly 14,000 high street stores have been forced to close this year, up 25% on 2019. Of those, one in ten will never be used as a retail outlet again, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
It warned that numbers could be greater in bigger towns and cities with commuters staying at home.
A poll of property bosses by Altus Group showed that more than a third of British high street landlords are already repurposing some of their retail assets. A further 57% are now considering doing so in response to the pandemic.
