Britain's shop vacancy dropped to 12.4% in April, the lowest since December 2009, according to the Local Data Company.
This is down -0.6% from the same time last year (April 2015). Analysis of vacancy rates by occupation type compared to the previous month shows that shop vacancy in April was 12.4% (-0.1% change), leisure vacancy was 8% (-0.1% change), and all (retail & leisure) vacancy rate was 11.2%( -0.1% change).

Below are the key findings for vacancy rates:
· The GB shopping centre vacancy rate (13.2%) dropped by -1.4% in April 2016, when compared to the same period last year (April 2015).
· The town centre vacancy rate dropped by -0.2% to 10.7% for the first time in three months.
· Scotland was the only region/nation to see an increase in its vacancy rate of +0.8% in the last 12 months (since April 2015).
· Persistent vacancy decreased in April, when compared to March 2016, with the number of units vacant for over three years across GB town centres falling to 11,839 units.
· Skelmersdale has the largest percentage of units vacant for longer than three years, with 31% (113 units) of the total units vacant for this period of time.
· The Midlands is seeing the biggest improvement in retail park vacancy rates, with the East Midlands also seeing a drop of -2.1% in the last 12 months.