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Empty shops on battered High Street at record high as consumers tighten their belts

Britain's beleaguered High Street continues to see the number of vacant shops increase thanks to  recent failures including Comet and Jessops.

The percentage of empty shops was 11.9 per cent in April, up from 10.9 per cent in January, and the highest point since the British Retail Consortium and Springboard began monitoring in 2011.

Retailers are facing a tough time as cash-strapped consumers tighten their belts amid soaring energy, food and fuel costs.

Closures: Small shops like these are under pressure from a stagnant economy and bad weather

Economic forecaster the Ernst & Young Item Club estimates persistently high inflation has already knocked 3 per cent off UK growth in the past three years.

While the economy is showing signs of recovery, the Bank of England warned last week that inflation is not expected to fall below its 2 per cent target until late 2015. Inflation is expected to have remained at around 2.7 per cent in April.

High Streets have outperformed shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks, thanks largely to a 5 per cent increase in evening drinkers, diners and clubbers.

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But the retail sector has been hammered by a series of high-profile administrations with HMV and camera outlet Jessops both going under in January.

Electronics retailer Comet slumped into administration in November.

BRC director-general Helen Dickinson said: ‘It’s a major concern that the vacancy rate has reached a record high.’

Rising temperatures boosted footfall in April by 1 per cent on a year earlier, a marked improvement on the 5.2 per cent fall in March.

Closing down: recent high profile closures of some of Britain's biggest high street brands has pushed the number of empty shops on high streets to their highest ever level.

Dickinson added: ‘The unsettled weather seems to have created pent-up demand.’

High street footfall was up 3.4 per cent, the strongest performance since December 2011, but shopping centre visitors fell 3 per cent.

Elsewhere footfall in Northern Ireland slumped 6.4 per cent in April, while its shop vacancy rate hit 18.1 per cent. In Wales, shoppers were down 2.1 per cent, with a vacancy rate of 17.9 per cent. The South West saw footfall slide 1.3 per cent and shop vacancies hit 14 per cent.

Greater London was the strongest performing region with footfall rising 4.2 per cent and just 7.4 per cent of its shops vacant.

The surging vacancy rate follows recent downbeat figures from the BRC which showed retail sales slowed at the fastest rate for a year in April as the timing of Easter and a freezing start to the month offset improvements in fashion and beauty.

Like-for-like sales fell  2.2 per cent in April from a year  earlier, with the early Easter hitting food sales in particular, it said.

CLOTHING EXPECTED TO HAMMER M&S PROFITS

Marks & Spencer is tomorrow expected to report annual profits have fallen to a five-year low as it battles to recover lost ground on women’s fashion.

Soaring food sales are unlikely to offset the fall in clothing, which is the focus of a rejuvenation effort under chief executive Marc Bolland.

City analysts forecast Marks will report earnings of £658million for 2012 – down 7 per cent from the £705.9million it posted a year ago and below the £710million hoped for.

The performance could see Bolland’s bonus slashed as more than half his incentive scheme is linked to earnings.


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