BRC news and archive

Landlords in England ordered to rent out empty stores to 'rejuvenate' high streets

Landlords in England with empty stores for over a year will be ordered to rent out the premises to prospective tenants in a move by the government to “breathe new life into high streets”. The Levelling up and Regeneration Bill, which was unveiled in the Queen’s speech on Tuesday, gives local leaders more power to bring retail units back into use...

Retail

Two-thirds of UK retailers face legal action in July over unpaid rent

Two-thirds of retailers in the UK face legal action in July when the moratorium on aggressive debt collection from commercial landlords ends, new research shows. Almost one third (30 percent) of retailers say they have already faced County Court Judgements (CCJs) from commercial landlords, while 60 percent of landlords have given tenants less...

RetailFeatured

Number of empty stores in UK soars in first quarter of 2021

The number of empty stores across the UK has soared in the first quarter of 2021, new data reveals. The overall GB vacancy rate increased to 14.1 percent in the first three months of the year, from 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the latest BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor. The figure is 1.9 percentage points higher than in the...

Retail

Shoppers flock to stores as retailers in England and Wales reopen

Shoppers in the UK flocked to stores on Monday as non-essential retailers in England and Wales reopened after months of lockdown. Up until 10am, footfall across all UK destinations increased 218.2 percent week-on-week. Breaking that down by locations, footfall in shopping centres saw the biggest improvement, up 339.7 percent, while high streets...

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Non-essential stores in England set to reopen in April

Non-essential retailers in England will reopen in April as part of the country’s “cautious” plan to exit lockdown, prime minister Boris Johnson announced Monday afternoon. Speaking to MPs at the House of Commons, Johnson set out a four-step plan to ease lockdown restrictions in the coming months. In the first stage, students will return to...

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Non-essential stores close in England and Scotland amid new lockdowns

All non-essential retailers in England and Scotland have closed once again amid new, stricter lockdown measures across both countries. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday that, as of midnight, all non-essential stores would close, people should remain at home and schools would close until February. A few hours later, prime...

Retail

UK fashion sales dive in November

The UK saw a sharp fall in the sales volume of clothing in November compared to the month before, as lockdowns across the four nations hindered retailers' hopes for a pre-Christmas sales rebound. Clothing retailers were the worst-hit category, with a monthly fall of 19 percent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National...

Retail

Brexit back-and-forth making it 'harder for businesses to prepare', BRC warns

Ongoing uncertainty over a trade deal between the UK and Europe is making it “harder for businesses to prepare effectively” for 1 January, warns the CEO of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Helen Dickinson. “The 11th hour has passed and every passing moment of uncertainty makes it harder for businesses to prepare effectively for the 1st...

Retail

Don’t leave Christmas shopping to the last minute, BRC urges

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged UK consumers not to leave Christmas shopping - whether online or in-store - to the last minute this year to avoid retailers from being overwhelmed. It comes after non-essential retailers were permitted to reopen on Wednesday following a one-month national lockdown. The government also this week gave...

Retail

BRC warns new lockdown will ‘throw away’ retail recovery

UK retail saw strong sales growth last month as it continued to recover from Spring store closures, but a new lockdown in England “will throw away this progress”, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned Tuesday. On a total basis, sales increased by 4.9 percent in October, against a decline of 0.3 percent in October 2019, according to the...

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UK retail aims to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2040

The UK retail industry has set out a target to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2040, with stores and warehouses powered by net zero electricity by 2030. The country’s trade body, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), announced the new target on Tuesday as part of its Climate Action Roadmap which was first announced in July and outlines steps to...

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UK shop vacancies continue to rise amid Covid-19 uncertainty

The UK’s shop vacancy rate rose to 13.2 percent in Q3 from 12.4 percent in Q2 amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of increasing rates. That increase was experienced across all locations, with shopping centres hit hardest, increasing to 16.3 percent from 14.3 percent in the previous quarter, according to the...