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PROPERTY REPORT
By Ged Henderson
NEW LOWS ON THE HIGH STREET
In the latest of a series of hammer blows to Lancashire’s high streets, the company that owns Preston’s flagship St George’s Shopping Centre was placed into administration in February.
The challenging retail landscape, made of Covid-19, continues to take its toll, amid growing calls for a different approach to be taken to “building back” Lancashire’s town and city centres.
As well as the St George’s administration, Preston city centre has seen the collapse of Debenhams, an iconic name that will also leave a big hole in Blackpool and Blackburn’s retail offering.
Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton are also big-name casualties disappearing from a number of high streets across the county.
St George’s which sits on Preston’s main March 1966 and has undergone a number of revamps while remaining a focal point of the city’s retail offering.
Home to household names including Marks and Spencer, Superdrug, New Look and River Island,
Capital Partners for £73m in 2015.
According to reports, the centre went into administration after its owner defaulted on a loan.
the move would have no operational impact, with the essential shops that are allowed to remain open during lockdown continuing to trade.
People will always
want to go out and shop, towns have to be really creative and ambitious
Even before the latest spate of business collapses the plight of the high street was causing concern. It was highlighted at the Lancashire Property Conference last year.
Simon Quin, executive director of the High Streets Task Force, set up by the government to lead the revitalisation of town and city centres,
was a speaker at the Lancashire Business View event in October.
Looking at the situation he doesn’t see any quick bounce back occurring and predicts: “We will see more empty spaces.
“The Centre for Retail Research says we lost 5,214 multiple retail stores last year and 1,300
“It is not just retail; hospitality saw many outlets trading at best at over 50 per cent below 2019. They may open but will not break even at that level.”
Dan Metcalf, associate director at Lancashire- based building consultancy AG, also paints a worrying picture. He says Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) are on the rise at “an alarming rate”.
And he adds: “The unfortunate reality is that we will continue to see more struggle across the retail and hospitality sector, which will force the closure of many stores and businesses.”
Simon Quin says the government has acted to try and support the high street: “The money from the Future High Streets Fund is a lot - £830m,” he adds. “This should make a difference in the towns allocated it.
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