Almost 5,000 more chain stores were left empty last year – a rate of about 14 closures a day – as high streets were hurt by the failure of Wilko and the retreat of banks and pubs.
Pharmacies were the biggest loser with 787 chain outlets disappearing – although many of these were Lloyds outlets which were taken over by independents.
Next in line were pubs with a net 722 closing, as Wetherspoon’s and Stonegate, the owner of the Slug and Lettuce brand, closed venues.
The figures from the Local Data Company (LDC) for the advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed the rate of net closures was up by a third from 3,627, but far short of the post-pandemic peak of more than 10,000 in 2021. The figures do not include the many thousands of independent outlets trading in the UK.
Retail parks recorded a net increase in outlets while high streets fared the worst last year with a net 3.3% decline in the number of trading sites.
Banks closed a net 583 branches, with the likes of Barclays, Halifax and Lloyds focusing increasingly online.
The demise of the cut-price chain Wilko, where all 400 stores closed after it fell into administration last August, also wreaked a major change in town and city centres.
The failure of the budget fashion chain M&Co and the administration of Joules, which was rescued by Next saving 100 of its 124 stores, contributed to the 325 fashion outlets being vacated last year.
While 9,138 new chain outlets opened, the highest level since before the pandemic, led by takeaways, cafes, discount supermarkets and petrol stations, the number of closures increased at a faster pace to 14,081.
Lisa Hooker, leader of industry for consumer markets at PwC, said: “A combination of the lagged impact of the pandemic together with inflation across the cost base has seen an acceleration in chain stores exiting the market in 2023 at 14 stores a day and some disappointing results across the independents sector.”
She added the changes reflected changes in habits with “longer-term growth in spending online mirroring the annual net closures in physical sites”.
Kien Tan, a senior retail adviser at PwC, said he expected to see the number of chain outlets continue to fall by about 2% given a steady trend towards more online shopping.
However, he added: “A shift to experiences and the decline in independents will continue to favour chain hospitality growth.”
Lucy Stainton, commercial director of LDC, said: “Many larger operators were still repositioning and consolidating their portfolios as consumer spending remained cautious, resulting in more closures than openings.
“Whilst we’re still facing sustained economic headwinds alongside some political uncertainty this year, the increasing store openings suggests we may see this gap close somewhat as we move through 2024.”
