The current economic climate has had a major effect upon Britain’s towns and cities, especially with regard to the retail industry. However, it appears that some areas of the country have been hit harder than others, with the north especially showing the strain of coping with recession.
In figures compiled by the Local Data Company, on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nottingham is shown to have the highest estimated rate of empty shops nationally, with nearly one in three commercial properties vacant.
Stoke-on-Trent came in second place, with around a quarter of the city’s many stores currently not in use.
However, the lack of retail facilities in city centres is not simply down to small or independent stores buckling under the mounting pressure to keep afloat – it appears that the mass migration of customers to out of town retail parks and the internet has affected large chain brands as well. In fact, LDC claim that no less than fourteen shops owned by chain store companies closed every single day in 2011.
This means that, for the first time since records began, the number of shops closed by retailers became higher than the number of new investments.
In a bid to aid Staffordshire’s business investors, Make It Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire aim to provide financial assistance and useful advice to businesses in the area who may be struggling to generate custom. Not only this, they offer the same services to potential investors considering moving to the area.
As everyone in the UK knows, the unemployment rate has rocketed recently, with 2.64 million people currently out of work – 1.6 million of who are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance. In Stoke-on-Trent, around 5.5 per cent of the population is currently out of work, totalling over 9,000 people.
This is another area Make It Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire wish to tackle, by encouraging larger companies to invest in the county. By raising the prestige of Stoke-on-Trent’s business platform, greater volumes of investment can be achieved, which will create the jobs the city and surrounding areas desperately need.
Yet the main point still needs to be highlighted – the fact that, as a small city in the West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent is ideally placed for some of the North’s major financial giants. Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham can all be reached in less than an hour, with excellent transport links including road, rail and busses.
Also, with plans in place to build the proposed HS2 rail link from Birmingham to London, the capital city will be easily accessible from the area. This means any investor interested in what Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire has to offer would be wise to act quickly, as property prices are bound to rocket when businesses realise what a commuter link with London will do for their profitability.
No matter what area of business you are interested in, Make It Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are available for advice, support and opportunities. Also, don’t forget that MOVEHUT have a wide variety of commercial properties available to view on our website, making this the ideal time to invest in Staffordshire business.
