Is the High Street bouncing back?

It can be easy to accept the bad press surrounding the 'death of the high street' and the various store closures that are widely publicised.

Indeed, global accounting firm PwC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, recently reported that every day 38 shops close down, replaced by only 25 new stores opening. 

However, our Commercial team in Norwich have observed sustained demand from national retailers who are targeting this city for a place on our High Street.

We have seen recent requirements circulating from the likes of Itsu, Blank Street Coffee, Anthropologie and Ben & Jerry’s.

This demonstrates that there is good demand from national occupiers looking to invest in space in Norwich City Centre. 

We find that national occupiers are particularly interested in properties on streets such as Gentleman’s Walk, London Street, Castle Street and Back Of The Inns.

Properties with good, visible shop fronts are favoured and a shell fit-out is preferred. 

Longer-term leases are often agreed due to the cost associated with fitting a property out to the occupier’s specifications, making these properties attractive investment opportunities. 

A recent House of Commons briefing paper on the UK Retail Sector supports the upward trend we are seeing in Norwich.

It states the retail sector generated nationally £110.4 billion in 2023, 4.7% of the UK’s total economic output and a 2.2% increase on 2022.

Last year UK retail sales were worth £510 billion – up by 3% on 2022 and as of January 1 this year, there were 324,995 retail businesses.

Store closures across Britain last year were 971, the lowest since 2015 and the number of empty retail units, which rose to a high of 14.5% in Covid, has dropped for five successive quarters.

We still have a way to go – but Norwich’s High Street continues to bounce back. We are here to facilitate that for landlords, tenants and investors.

If you have retail space to let or sell or are a business looking to occupy a retail unit, please contact Katie Bates, Commercial Surveyor, in our Norwich office on 01603 629871.

Read EDP article