Almost 13,500 retail stores in the UK closed for good last year, equivalent to about 37 shops a day, new data has found.
A ‘brutal’ year for the retail sector saw 28% more closures than the 10,500 in 2023, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
Independent retailers, typically smaller businesses with between one and five stores, were particularly hard-hit, with 11,000 shops shutting down – 84% of all closures.
Commercial real estate firm Altus Group warned that the Government’s planned cut to the business rates discount in April would make survival for retailers even tougher.
The cut to the discount from 75% to 40% will see the average shop’s business rates bill ‘spiral’ from £3,589 to £8,613 over the next financial year, the group warned.
The firm’s president of property tax, Alex Probyn, branded the move ‘foolhardy’, adding: ‘despite Labour’s manifesto recognition of the undue burden business rates place on our high streets, that burden will be significantly increased’.
The Centre for Retail Research forecast that 17,000 more shops would shut permanently in 2025.
