London is the only part of the UK to report a drop in its retail vacancy rate, according to new figures from the Local Data Company.
The figures unveiled today by the LDC also show an increasing North-South divide in the amount of vacant shops.
London’s vacancy rate fell to 10.1% as of 30 June 2012, compared with 10.7% for the same period in 2011.
All of the top ten town or city centres with the highest rates of vacant shops were in Wales, the Midlands or the North-West.
Nottingham was the worst-performing large shopping centre with a 30.6% vacancy rate. No large centres in London or the South-East made the list.
The average for the UK is 14.6% for the first half of 2012, up from 14.5% in 2011.
LDC director Matthew Hopkinson said: “A widening gap in health exists between town centres depending on their location, offer and consumer profile. Fundamental national economic issues are being played out at a local level.”
A rush to build retail space despite falling profitability is one factor behind the rising vacancy rates. An additional 71m sq ft of retail space has been built since 2005.
Personal disposable income has also fallen, particularly in the worst-performing areas.
British Property Federation chief executive Liz Peace said: “Our towns face complex structural problems which are not going to be solved by tinkering around the edges.
“We need to have a complete re-think about how vacant property could be redeveloped into new uses.”
The data was compiled from an analysis of 506 town centres and 145,000 shops visited during the first six months of 2012.
