Exclusive: One in every four shops in Cheapside are empty

Oone in every four shops in Cheapside are empty, reveals research shared exclusively with City A.M.

The shop vacancy rate in the shopping precinct between Bank and St. Paul’s stations has shot up from just 3.4 per cent in 2019, before the pandemic, to nearly 25 per cent this year, according to Colliers.

Retailers’ income has been slashed due to City workers being ordered to work from home during the pandemic, resulting in firms cutting their physical footprint and collapsing altogether.

However, refurbishments of retail hubs in the City and elsewhere in London “bodes well, providing opportunities for new market entrants and the possibility of repositioning high streets generally,” Walter Boettcher, head of research and economics at Colliers, said.