Store closures across Northern England have steadied to their lowest rate since 2018, as PwC UK has revealed the latest statistics for chain retail stores, leisure venues and service outlets opening and closing across Great Britain for 2024.
Across the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, there was a total of 823 net closures in 2024, close to 2022’s total of 865, and the lowest reading since 355 in 2018.
The North East had 359 openings compared with 502 closures (-1.7 net change %). The North West had 956 openings compared with 1,311 closures (-1.5% net change %) and Yorkshire and the Humber posted 857 openings against 1,182 closures (-1.8% net change %).
Across Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and North East, high streets were the category with the worst net change percentage, averaging -2.9%. Conversely, retail parks showed modest growth, with a net change percentage of 1.3 in the North East, 1.1 in Yorkshire and –0.1 in the North West.
Compared to 2023, net change (openings minus closures) stabilised across all three regions in 2024, with the North East recording a rate of -143, compared to -215 in 2023. The North West had the largest improvement, with a 39% net change of -355, compared to -578 in 2023. Yorkshire and the Humber also saw its net change steady somewhat, from -456 in 2023 to -325 in 2024.
Across all regions, net change ranged from -1.4% in Wales (-131 outlets) to -2.3% in the East of England (-452 outlets). While there are fluctuations in closure rates between UK regions from year to year, over the last 10 years, all regions saw cumulative closures within two percentage points of the national average.
"The shopping landscape in the North of England is experiencing notable shifts. High Street locations are facing significant challenges, with declines across all three regions. Interestingly, retail parks in the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber are seeing modest growth, suggesting a shift in consumer preferences. These trends highlight the dynamic nature of the retail sector and the importance of adapting to changing consumer behaviours. Businesses looking to grow should consider leveraging digital technology to enhance their online presence, diversify their product or service offerings, and create more personalised shopping experiences."
High streets lagging behind
Across Great Britain, retail parks saw a net increase of 0.4% of chain outlets, an acceleration of 0.1 percentage points compared with 2023. They remain the only location type showing growth. In fact, over a 10-year period, there were only 3% fewer retail park outlets in 2024 than there were in 2014.
By comparison, other locations have fared worse over the past decade, with 25% fewer shopping centre chain outlets and almost 30% fewer high street outlets than in 2014. Notwithstanding the long-term declining trend, both shopping centres and high streets saw fewer net closures in 2024 compared with 2023: shopping centres' net decline fell from -2.5% to -1.2%, while the decline in high street chain outlets fell from -3.3% to -2.4%.
The bi-annual report, using proprietary data from Green Street (formerly Local Data Company), tracks more than 200,000 chain outlets in over 3,500 locations to gain a picture of the changing landscape of retail chains with more than five stores across Great Britain.
Notes to Editors:
- Find the full report on the PwC website from the 20th March: https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/retail-consumer/insights/store-openings-and-closures.html
- Green Street tracked more than 206,808 outlets operated by multiple operators across Great Britain, extended in 2020 from Top 500 high streets to all GB locations, between 1st January and 31st December 2024.
- Multiples are ‘chain outlets’ that have 5 or more outlets nationally.
- Net change is openings less closures. The percentage change is derived from the net change figure relative to the total number of live multiple businesses.
- The analysis is derived from Green Street visiting 3,500 high streets, shopping centres and retail parks across Great Britain. Each premises was visited and its occupancy status recorded as occupied, vacant or demolished. Vacant units are those units which did not possess a trading business at that location on the day visited.
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