One shop closes every day with banks, fashion retailers and charities worst hit

More shops closed in Scotland than in any other part of Britain last year with one shutting each day, researchers have found.

Banks, fashion outlets and charity shops were hardest hit as 366 stores closed and 254 opened across Scotland in 2016, according to PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company.

The net change of a 3.44% drop is almost double the British average of a 1.32% fall, and is the highest across the land.

All areas across Scotland surveyed recorded an overall decrease in shops, with Leith having the highest rate of closures with a 10.53% drop, followed by Ayr's 8.3% fall.

Falkirk, which traditionally has more store openings than closures, was the most resilient with a 0.78% drop.

Fashion stores had the largest number of closures at 32. A total of 15 banks, 13 charity shops and 12 mobile phone stores also shut.

The falls were partially offset as more stores were opened in Scotland than elsewhere in Britain, except in the north-east of England.

Fast-food outlets were among the most popular new stores with 14 opening, followed by 10 convenience stores, 10 tobacconists and seven new TV equipment servicing firms.

Across Britain, the fastest-growing retailers were in leisure, hearing aids, tobacconists and Marks & Spencer food outlets.

Mark Addley, deals director at PwC Scotland, said: The average of around one closure per day has been the Scottish average for most years since 2012 - but that will be of little comfort to people who have lost their jobs and livelihoods because of this.

Overall, we are seeing far fewer closures due to outright insolvencies, but more due to the lower key restructuring of store portfolios.

Where there is some good news is that Scots are also leading the way in openings and we shouldn't lose sight of that. In this era of mobile banking, internet shopping and less people going to high streets, there will be change. What we have to see is companies adapting to that.

And while those in retail parks may feel more secure, even there, caution has to be exercised as we are seeing companies that previously had two or more outlets in larger parks consolidating into one unit. This has particularly impacted on mobile phone stores.

Looking ahead, I doubt the figures are going to improve by the end of 2017 for areas like banking as we've seen a number of companies announce branch closures of late, but other areas may pick up depending on the levels of tourism Scotland and Great Britain sees over the summer.''