March 16, 2016 4.24 pm This story is over 96 months old

Shop numbers in Lincoln continue to fall, figures show

The number of shops in Lincoln fell in 2015, with more stores closing and opening, according to new figures. Services network PricewaterhouseCoopers’ research, compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC), has revealed that 11 stores opened in the city, with 20 closing. This compares with 25 shops closing down in 2014, with 18 shops opening.…
Photo: The Lincolnite

The number of shops in Lincoln fell in 2015, with more stores closing and opening, according to new figures.

Services network PricewaterhouseCoopers’ research, compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC), has revealed that 11 stores opened in the city, with 20 closing.

This compares with 25 shops closing down in 2014, with 18 shops opening.

The picture in Lincoln is replicated across some market towns in Lincolnshire, with others bucking the trend.

The situation was particularly bleak in Sleaford, where just a single store opened, but six closed down.

In the south of the county, just six shops opened in Grantham and Stamford combined, with nine closing.

However, better news was found in Gainsborough, where six shops opened and just three closed, and in Boston, which saw nine stores open and eight close in 2015.

In Louth, just a single shop opened and closed.

Across the East Midlands, 350 outlets closed in 2015 compared to 285 openings, equating to a net reduction of 65 shops.

Pizza takeaways, computer games shops and charity shops were among those growing at the fastest rate while cheque cashing, banks, and women’s clothes shops were the hardest hit.

Andy Lyon, partner and head of retail at PwC in the East Midlands, said: “The openings are concentrated on experience type outlets, especially food and beverage. The closures reflect ongoing structured changes in retail banking and the higher regulatory hurdles facing so called ‘money shops’.

“Fashion has taken another battering and the closures testify to the proliferations of “me too” retailers in this sub-sector.”