High Street Positives Newsletter

What is High Street Positives about?

The national narrative around the High Street is overwhelmingly negative. Whilst challenges exist, there are countless positive developments, town regenerations, new retail, thriving indies, resilient existing shops, community initiatives, pop-ups, and innovative businesses to name a few.

High Streets are incredible community hubs, playing vital roles at different stages of our lives, helping to combat loneliness and isolation.

This initiative aims to spotlight and amplify positive stories about the High Street, balancing the narrative. A more positive outlook can encourage footfall, investment, creativity, and innovation. Supporting #HighStreetPositives means championing safe, vibrant spaces that help combat isolation and loneliness. Let’s help shift the focus to bright spots and growth potential. Join us in celebrating the vibrancy and resilience of our High Streets and be part of a movement that champions positivity and progress!

Why changing the narrative is important for the high street?

In conjunction with Find Out Now, we are conducting a MASSIVE poll,currently with over 54,000 respondents from across the UK, providing us with a wealth of fascinating and informative insights. This comprehensive data collection will help us better understand current perceptions and behaviours regarding the high street, which we’ll share in upcoming posts and newsletters.

Our first finding reveals a very strong relationship between the negative media narrative about high streets and a decline in people's willingness to visit.

We have found that:

• 44% say media coverage of the high street is negative.

• Only 17% find it positive.

• 39% see it as neutral or are unsure.

Readers of tabloids like The Sun, The Mirror, The Mail, and The Star are more likely to perceive their newspaper is negative about the high street compared to those reading The Times, The Guardian, and The FT.

The survey reveals that negative media coverage strongly influences public perception, with an 88% correlation showing that people exposed to negative news are less likely to want to visit their high street.

This highlights the importance of changing the narrative to a more positive one, as improving perceptions can increase footfall, boost local economies, and revitalize community hubs.

About Find Out Now
Find Out Now is a polling and market research panel with 2.8 million members. Highly profiled respondents can be targeted instantly, with over 100,000 daily responses allowing the delivery of same-day nationally representative sampling. Find Out Now are members of the British Polling Council and Market Research Society, and abide by their rules.

“The High Street is Dying” they said, however:

There are loads of positive news stories from high streets across the UK. Here's a brief selection of verified highlights , celebrating new store openings, regeneration projects, and other positive developments

• Sostrene Grene: are on a massive roll out of new stores. They are set to open 24-25 stores in 2024, which are all on High Streets and City or Town Centres! They have very recently opened in Tunbridge Wells, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Richmond, London. Then Oxford will be opening on the 9th August, followed soon after by Newcastle, Dundee and Edinburgh.

• Sparks, Bristol’s unique sustainable department store, education and arts hub has recently celebrated its first birthday in May. The initiative embarked on a mission to fill the empty Broadmead M&S building with ethical and sustainable retail supporting local traders and artists, transforming a huge empty space at the centre of the city’s high street which had been vacant since 2022. Local Charities Artspace Lifespace and Global Goals Centre partnered to pilot an ambitious ‘department store with a difference.

• Aspiring UK retailers have the chance to set up shop for the first time thanks to a new competition from global wholesale marketplace Faire which will award two winners £5,000 to stock their new stores ahead of opening.

• Faire is also expanding its Open with Faire  programme, which has helped 500 independent retailers open stores across the country since 2022 by providing them with up to £20,000 in credit to spend on Faire,  with no interest or fees and net 60 day payment terms.

• Devon-based bed and mattress manufacturer and retailer Naturalmat are ramping up their showroom opening programme. They recently opened their fifth showroom in Knutsford, Cheshire and are aiming to do one store a year.

• A consortium of architects, place-making specialists, and videographers including Studio Saar, BAS Consultancy, Land Story, Megaphone Creative and Stories has won the Davidson Prize with their concept for the adaptive reuse of an art deco former Debenhams in Taunton as affordable co-op housing and a circular economy hub to encourage new uses for the town centre. The team will work towards developing the concept further in the coming months.

• Marks & Spencer has announced the opening of two new flagship stores in the city centres of Bath and Bristol. This marks a notable return to Bristol after their closure in 2022, signifying a renewed commitment to serving customers in these key urban areas with enhanced shopping experiences.

• Costa Coffee is heavily investing in the high street, by upgrading and refreshing hundreds of existing stores, with a selected number of stores receiving extra special uplift, including the recently opened Tooley Street in London and Lord Street in Liverpool. The programme will enhance store teams, update designs, introduce freshly baked in-store ranges, and implement new technologies. Additionally, they plan to open several brand-new stores and relocations.

• Loungers have opened 36 new sites in their year end to April 2024, and have a continuing roll out requirement for the same. They are finding that well served High Streets continue to flourish and providing there is the right mix of local independent retailers as well as stalwart national occupiers as well as some good evening F&B offering, footfall tends to be good in these towns.

• Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils have launched an exciting project funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This initiative explores the vital role of local markets, focusing on both their economic impact and social value to the community. The insights gained will shape future policies and strategies to foster market growth and development.

• Luxury skincare brand Elemis has recently opened its first standalone store in Covent Garden. This new flagship location allows customers to experience their premium products and personalized skincare services in a dedicated space, marking a significant milestone for the brand as it expands its retail presence

• ITSU, the popular Asian-inspired fast food chain, is planning a significant expansion in the UK. The company aims to double its number of restaurants from the current 80 sites

• Union Yard is a Rushmoor Borough Council-led regeneration scheme of a key area of Aldershot town centre that will create a new, revitalised and vibrant space. The scheme will bring 100 homes, 128 student apartments, 12 retail units and a Makers’ Yard creative space to the town centre.

• In Sunderland, event impact is being tracked. A recent food and drink festival saw 30,000 people visit, spending on average £25 per head, with 88% of those visitors going on to do other things in the city.

• The Fold opened their 2^nd London store in April after the brand has seen continued growth both in the UK and overseas.  Known for their modern, luxury take on formal wear, and particularly workwear, The Fold's Royal Exchange store, in the heart of The City, is the perfect spot to attract women in business.

• Trespass, the privately owner sportswear brand, has just opened in Harlow last weekend. They have also completed this week on a unit in Coppers Square, Burton-upon-Trent, and will open later this month.

How to reduce the number of vacant units on your high street?

This column features guest writers sharing their top advice and key insights on revitalizing the high street. Kicking off with Iain’s top tip on how to reduce the number of vacant units

By Iain Nicholson MIPM, Founder of The Vacant Shops Academy  - working on tackling vacancy with 31 locations since 2022.

What’s the backstory of vacant units in your town or city centre? What are the barriers to getting them back into use? And importantly, what part can the place play in that?

If a market town can reduce its number of empty units from 23 to 3 in 18 months, and a city can drop a 25% high street vacancy rate to half that (going below the national average) in the same time frame, what impact could your place have on its current numbers?

More than 11 years’ experience shows that the quickest and most sustainable way to tackle vacancy is by working Together! By bringing agents, landlords, businesses, community, council(s), BID where there is one, chamber and cultural organisations together on this issue. It’s not “just an agents-landlords thing”.

That current national average vacancy rate is around 14%. If every place took this approach, could we lower that into single figures…?

What is a Business Improvement District (BID) and what do they do for their high streets?

This column delves into the key jobs, businesses, and organisations that support the high street. Kicking off with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and their potential to significantly enhance the vitality and success of many high streets

A town or city centre Business Improvement District (BID) is a not for profit organisation formed by businesses and landlords within a specific geographical area. Through a board of directors, these stakeholders collaborate to invest collectively in their surroundings. Funding comes from a levy on businesses in the BID, supporting projects that improve the area's appeal, drive economic growth, and attract more customers and visitors.

The board of a town or city centre BID typically includes a diverse representation of stakeholders from retailers and businesses, property owners, community leaders and local government officials. The board's composition aims to reflect the diversity of businesses and interests within the BID area, ensuring that decisions regarding initiatives, projects, and funding align with the needs and priorities of the local business community.

These BID’s work closely with local councils to ensure their initiatives add to existing baseline public services and align with broader city or town plans, avoiding duplication of efforts. Unlike local authorities funded through general taxation, the funding through a levy allows is spent in that specific geographical area for targeted improvements directed by a board of local business representatives. This ensures projects meet the specific needs and priorities of the business community.

BIDs operate with greater flexibility and speed compared to local authorities, enabling innovative responses to local challenges without the broader statutory obligations.They can provide additional services such as :

• Enhanced Marketing and Promotion: Attracting shoppers and boosting sales through targeted campaigns.

• Improved Public Spaces: Maintaining cleanliness, landscaping, and installing public art to create an inviting atmosphere.

• Security and Safety: Implementing CCTV, enhanced lighting, and patrols to ensure a safer environment.

• Events and Activities: Organising festivals, markets, and performances to cultivate community engagement and attract visitors.

• Business Support: Offering training, networking, and advocacy to empower local businesses.

• Infrastructure Upgrades: Investing in signage, transport improvements, and accessibility enhancements to improve overall customer experience.

By collectively investing in these areas, BIDs help create a thriving, attractive, and competitive high street that benefits businesses and the community alike.

"BID’s are a real force for good in an area, working at a strategic level with key stakeholders and also working in partnership with businesses, and collaborating with each other to develop initiatives that add real value.   By running events, and producing compelling marketing campaigns BID’s drive footfall and spend in local businesses.  Regular activity brings customers back again and again which strengthens the local economy. Evidence shows that BID’s bring in several times the value of the levy, in Sunderland during the last 5 years an economic boost of £13m was achieved on a levy income of £3.3m." Sharon Appleby, CEO Sunderland BID

“Formed in 2004, BIDs celebrate their twentieth year this year and in that time have grown in number and effectiveness as the model has matured. With over 330 BIDs up and down the country and over £152 million invested by Businesses into those areas every year, it is clear that their presence and delivery is vital. Ongoing Partnership working with Local Authorities in challenging financial times will be key to the success and help the continued development of the BID model for the next 20 years.” Lisa Gibbs, The BID Foundation and BID Consultant

The Requirement List is a database of active retail & leisure property requirements, used by the majority of the retail property market.

Here are some of the requirements listed with them at the moment:

• Loungers are eager as ever for new opportunities and have a minimum requirement of 35 sites per year. You can view their property requirements here

•  Amber Taverns are looking for High Street locations to develop thriving wet led businesses at the heart of a community. They are currently paying £15,000 intro fees. Their property requirements can be found here

•  The UK's leading pizza brand, Dominos, is looking for new High Street locations and are paying a min £5,000 finders fee. You can view their target town list here

•  Merkur Slots are seeking 1,000 - 3,000 sq.ft High Street properties. They have agreed over 50 new deals this year. Their property requirement flyer can be found here.

•  Whilst their other brand, The Food Warehouse, is opening new out of town locations, Iceland are looking to acquire new premises in busy High Street Locations. More info here.