Town Centre Intelligence (TCI), the new urban data management tool we developed for The Local Data Company, reveals that UK retail vacancy rates rose from 4% to 12% in the 6 months to March.
We were chuffed to see that the Financial Times used this information as a source for a headline story on 16 May 2009, also using the data to highlight the worst-affected sectors – predictably perhaps, these are fashion, electrical, furniture DIY and jewellery retailers.
The application delivers constantly-updated data on 675 town centres across Great Britain, giving instant insights to planners, developers and investors into the retail mix and the health of the high street.
TCI highlights that the last two quarters have seen fast growth in the rate of shop vacancies, with particularly high levels in the north east of England and the West Midlands, as the contour map created by Geofutures for the FT illustrates.
Map of retail vacancies Q4 08-Q1 09 prepared by Geofutures for the Financial Times
The specific effects of the credit crunch can be seen in the nature of these vacancies: the overall closure rate has not increased significantly, but the numbers of new openings – often reliant upon bank finance – have shown a sharp reduction.
The main idea behind TCI is the ability to manage vast volumes of data seamlessly, drilling down through these kinds of numbers, comparing town centres like for like and at successively fine scales. For more information about the product, please visit The Local Data Company website.
See the news story on ft.com (registration required).
Tags: clients, products, town centres
