Over 10% of UK high street shops are vacant or available to lease, according to latest Retail Availability survey from real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield.
The new figure of 10.7% at February 1 is a marginal increase of 0.4% over the previous three months when availability fell for the first time in 2009 by 2.3%, a figure Cushman says was boosted by temporary lettings in the run up to Christmas.
The new figure, however, is almost 2% below the peak recorded in August 2009 of 12.6%.
London remains the most polarised regional market with the centre of the capital recording one of the lowest national availability figures of only 7.9% whilst the suburbs recorded the highest at 17.4%
Overall, the Midlands has seen the highest increase in availability at 1.7%, bringing their figure to 12.1%. Birmingham still has the highest availability in the region with Nottingham the lowest at 8.7%.
Cushman's Rob Alston, partner Midlands and South West, said: "The major city centres in the Midlands are still attracting reasonably strong demand from retailers but in some locations the vacancy rate remains stubbornly high. Landlords however are becoming more creative to get deals done offering shorter lease terms, healthy incentives and in some cases turnover only deals. With rents therefore offering relatively good value, we do expect to see vacancies falling as retailers take advantage of the opportunity to secure representation here."