Retailers need friendly Budget in March

Savannah Selle
February 13, 2011

Shop insurance holders plead for a Budget that will bring benefits to the retail-sector, it has been claimed.

The need for a retail-friendly Budget has been exemplified after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that the numbers of shops lying empty in the UK are soaring.

Retailers need the Budget on their side since new figures from The Local Data Company show that more than 1 in 7 retail stores across the UK are empty. It was revealed that shop-vacancy rates climbed to 14.5% at the end of 2010, compared to 12% the previous year.

Matthew Hopkinson, a director of the Local Data Company, said:

“The sad reality is that the number of vacant shops is increasing, with certain areas of the country severely impacted and unlikely to recover.”

The BRC explains that the Budget will be a key opportunity for the Chancellor to ease cost pressures, raise consumer confidence and support town centres, especially when considering its on-going campaign, ‘21st Century High Streets’ that aims to lower costs.

BRC Director of Business and Regulation, Tom Ironside, said:

“The fragile state of the economy is compounding difficulties many of our town centres have been facing for some time. Economic recovery alone will not be enough to ensure they bounce back.”

“The soaring number of empty shops shows how important a retail-friendly budget is. Next month, the Chancellor has a crucial opportunity to help high streets by easing existing cost pressures and resisting the temptation to impose new ones.”

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