Peterborough has most thriving high street in the UK, new research says

More than 1,200 high street stores closed during the first half of 2019, with more than 5,000 closures in the past 12 months across the UK, according to research from Asktraders.

The research looked at data from Link ATM, Which? and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and analysed ATM, retail store and bank closures in 50 of the largest towns and cities in the UK.

Each location was ranked according to ATM, bank and retail decline, with the best-performing awarded a score of one and the worst a score of 50.

Across the three measures, the average score was taken to reveal the areas with the worst high streets in the UK.

Peterborough’s score was 9.7, ahead of Huddersfield with 11.3 and Coventry with 13.

Asktraders said: “Between June and August 2019, LINK ATM growth was up by 0.62 per cent and since 2015 only 11 per cent of bank branches in the town have closed down. In terms of retail enterprise growth, there was a one per cent increase in the number of retail store opens in the area.”

Bottom was Poole with a score of 45, followed by Blackpool and Warrington.

Northampton was ranked as the seventh best, one place behind London.

Steve Miley, senior market analyst at AskTraders, said: “The UK high street has been weathering tough trading conditions with many UK retailers dropping by the wayside. Traditional retail store closures are on the up as businesses grapple with a weak consumer in the face of Brexit uncertainty, the unabated rise of e-commerce, higher costs and changing tastes.

“There are, inevitably, going to be winners and losers. High street retailers with inflexible business models that have failed to adapt to their changing environment are and will be the most noticeable casualties. Big names have just vanished from our high street and there will certainly be more to come.

“The challenges that the high street is facing aren’t going anywhere fast. This will be a case of survival of the fittest. Those retailers that can evolve whilst still giving their customers exactly what they want could have a lot to gain.”