Town centre vacancy rates in Great Britain increased by +0.05% in June 2012 to 14.6%, according to the Local Data Company’s monthly barometer.

This change, albeit small, means the shop vacancy rate is back at its highest recorded level.

Matthew Hopkinson, director at the Local Data Company, said: “June’s rise in shop vacancy should not be considered as a negative change in light of the change being a mere 0.05%. It shows stability in unstable times but the national figure hides the regional and local variances which are significant and will be revealed in our next bi-annual shop vacancy report on 4 September 2012. 

“Recent weak reports on the economy and retail sales figures show the pressure remains on shops up and down the country.

“While the Olympics will bring a boost for London and the south east, as the recent census results did in population numbers, the same cannot be said for other parts of the country. The number of empty shops in the top 650 town centres currently stands in excess of 23,000.”