More high street stores close as retail recovery stutters

Trade body calls for business rates reform to help boost investment in high streets battered by lockdowns

The end of lockdown has come too late to prevent fresh store closures on Britain's high streets as businesses count the cost of 18 months of pandemic disruption, the latest update on consumer spending has shown.

Despite a boost to activity after the lifting of restrictions, the trade body for the sector, the British Retail Consortium, said the pace of recovery was slowing and more town centre sites were falling vacant.

Related: One in seven shops now vacant across the UK