Almost 90% of Debenhams stores still lie empty a year after collapse

UK retail data shows slow revival of high streets partly driven by independent businesses moving into vacant sites

Nearly 90% of former Debenhams stores remain empty almost a year after the department store closed its doors for the last time, in a sign of the challenge to reinvent high streets across the country.

The empty shops are among nearly 8,000 outlets left empty last year, according to a report by the high street analysts Local Data Company (LDC), as Covid lockdowns accelerated the shift towards shopping online and pummelled city centres.