Out of town retail vacancy rates remain low
New figures have shown that vacancy rates in the UK’s out of town retail sector remain low.
The data from international real estate advisor Savills reveals that just 5.96% of units are currently unoccupied. This is significantly lower than the sector’s 10.86% vacancy rate by unit in 2015 and 12.17% in 2012.
Despite the recent administrations of Maplin and Toys R Us, both of which have a large out of town presence, Savills believes the outlook is positive. Looking at a worst case scenario where only 20% of the retailers’ out of town space was re-let by the end of this year, it said the sector’s overall vacancy rate by unit would still only rise to just 6.67%.
On a square foot basis, 3.62% of out of town retail space in the UK is currently vacant. This compares to 5.36% in 2015 and 6.76% in 2012.
Sam Arrowsmith, associate director in the research team at Savills, said: “Even with additional closures linked to the CVAs announced recently, vacancy rates will not change dramatically. Numerous retailers also remain acquisitive, including Lidl, Aldi, B&M, The Range and Home Bargains, which all plan to open further out of town stores in 2018.”
