28/10/2009 - Tenth of UK shops forced to close
A tenth of all UK shops have been forced out of business by the recession, according to a Local Data Company survey reported in The Times newspaper.
It reports that between January and September this year, a total of 25,090 of 251,462 retailers in 705 centres have had to close.
Rising rates and limited access to credit are blamed, with independent fashion and footwear stores being the hardest hit.
Figures show that 18% of womenswear and kidswear, 15% of footwear and 12% of menswear stores have shut their doors in the first nine months of the year.
Liz Peace, boss of the British Property Federation, said: "Clearly, no one is escaping the recession, and it's vital that ministers offer real help to businesses through a sensible mitigation of the impact of next year's rise in business rates and a cut in empty property rates.
"In order to maintain investment in retail regeneration, developers need to be able to maintain returns which are generated from keeping rents at a certain level."
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