Corporate recovery could have even more importance in protecting the nation’s high streets, with the revelation that company liquidations in the retail sector outpaced new openings in the first half of 2014.
On average, 16 stores per day closed their doors in the first six months – down from 18 in 2013 and 20 in 2012.
But the figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers show that the net balance of high street stores – calculated by subtracting the number of closures from the number of new openings – stood at -406 by the midpoint of the year.
This is a significant increase on the first half of last year, when the figure was -209, and is also already greater than the full-year total of -371 in 2013.
Mike Jervis, insolvency partner and retail specialist at PwC, said: “I expect to see multiple retailers continue to approach openings in town centres very cautiously.
“This is likely to mean shorter-term leases and more temporary pop-up type formats, particularly in secondary locations.”
With this in mind, it is more important than ever to attempt corporate recovery wherever possible, helping to keep shop doors open on the high street.
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