Shop vacancy rates still rising

According to the latest figures
from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), in the first quarter of 2021, the
overall GB vacancy rate increased to 14.1%, from 13.7% in Q4 2020. It was 1.9
percentage points higher than in the same point in 2020. This marks three years
of increasing vacancy rates, from Q1 2018.Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief
Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “After a third national
lockdown, it is no surprise that the vacancy rate has continued to soar. The
forced c