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Charity shops close across Scotland

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A total of 35 charity shops closed in the first half of 2018 - more than any other region of the UK

Scotland lost more charity shops in the last six months than any other UK region, a study has revealed.

Figures compiled by the data directory business the Local Data Company for its Retail and Leisure Trends Report found 25 charity shops in Scotland were lost in the first half of 2018.

The report showed there were 35 closures over the period, and just 10 openings.

Charity shops with just one branch fared better than charity shops in chains, the study found, with a net loss of 11 independent charity shops, or 0.5% of those on Britain’s high streets, compared to 108 or 1.2% of chain charity shops.

The only part of the country where more charity shops opened than closed was Yorkshire and the Humber, which gained five charity shops after 38 closed and 43 opened, while in south-west England, numbers held steady with 43 closures and the same number of openings.

South-east England saw the most closures (48) but also the most openings (69), leading to a net loss of 21 shops.

General vacancy rates for retail units in Scotland dropped to 11.3% (from 11.9%) and was lower than Wales (14.8%) and the North West (15%) but higher than Greater London (7.9%).

Scotland saw the biggest drop in short-term vacant units, with a 0.7% drop in the percentage of units vacant for less than one year. Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee led the Scottish towns to see a reduction in their short term vacancy. This was due, especially in Dundee, to retail units being converted for alternative uses such as flats and houses. Aberdeen and Edinburgh saw increased occupancy, with the number of occupied units being boosted by 2.5% and 2.2% respectively.

The report shows that across the UK, 309 charity shops opened between January and the end of June, while 428 closed their doors.

Last year there was a net loss of 69 with 217 shops closing and 202 opening.

In comparison, there was a net loss of 692 pubs over the first six months of the year, alongside 171 women’s clothes shops and 114 hairdressers.