Southport BID says seeing a new Beales opening in Southport this summer is a huge sign of investor confidence in the town, after new figures revealed that the UK has lost 83% of its main department stores in the last five years.

In many cities, towns and retail parks across the UK, large anchor spaces sit empty after the collapse of chains such as BHS and Debenhams.

The figures highlight the extent of the upheaval in the high street as the Covid pandemic accelerated changes in people’s shopping habits.

The data, compiled by commercial property information firm CoStar Group, also reveals that more than two-thirds of these shops remain unoccupied.

Some 237 big stores have yet to be taken over by a new business.

The figures show how much Southport is bucking the trend.

Hundreds of people queued to enjoy the official opening of the new Beales department store on Lord Street in Southport in August, following an £800,000 investment and the creation of 40 new jobs.

It is not the only large building in Southport in the process of being repurposed into something new.

In July, over 10,000 people visited Southport Market in the first two days since it reopened following its £1.4million transformation into an exciting new food, drink and events venue.

On Chapel Street, Southport’s former BHS store – which had been empty and neglected since it closed in April 2016 – is currently undergoing building work to convert the upper floors into Prestige Stay aparthotel rooms with shops, a cafe and a pub on the ground floor.

Earlier this year, Mikhail Hotel & Leisure revealed plans to overhaul the former Grand Casino building on Lord Street into an exclusive hotel and wedding venue.

Southport BID CEO Rachel Fitzgerald said: “These stark new figures reveal the dramatic changes and challenges that high streets are facing across the UK.

“Many places are finding it very difficult to find positive new uses for the sites of former department stores such as BHS, Debenhams and others.

“Southport BID was delighted to work with the owners of Beales to support the opening of their new store in Southport – the only Beales in the north of England. It really shows the confidence that the firm has in Southport’s retail offer.

“The BID supported Beales by appealing for local businesses to consider opening concessions in the new store.

“I am pleased to see such a huge response to the new store, which has been trading above expectations since it opened.

“In the run-up to Christmas, I hope people continue to support the new Beales, and our other shops in Southport. We will only keep our stores if people support them.

“Shopping Local will be especially important in the run-up to this Christmas.

“The BID was also involved in discussions which has led to work taking place at the former BHS store on Chapel Street. This was a big, empty building in a prominent town centre location which had been vacant for too long.

“Our work doesn’t stop. We are aware of interest in the former Debenhams building on Lord Street in Southport, and would love to see that materialise into bringing that building back into use.”

Much of the investor confidence in Southport is being driven by the Southport Town Deal, with the Government announcing a £38.5million windfall for the town earlier this year.

Some of the funds have already supported the Southport BID project to transform Lord Street into a ‘boulevard of light’, with money also supporting the conversion of Southport Market. Central to the Town Dean is the creation of a £75million new Marine Lake Events Centre to replace the former Southport Theatre & Convention Centre which closed last year.

Figures released by Springboard last Friday reveal that the total number of visitors to Southport for the year to date is 5,587,817 which is 16.7% up on the previous year – and way ahead of the 4.8% average for the UK.

The figures which show the reduction in department stores in the UK over the past five years has been carried out by CoStar Group.

CoStar Group Head of Analytics, Mark Stansfield, said: “The data undoubtedly highlights the acceleration of change in the retail sector in recent years, which the pandemic has only exacerbated.”

CoStar tracked the UK’s largest chains, from BHS and Beales to Debenhams and House of Fraser, from 2016 to the present day.

Five years ago, they had 467 stores between them. Now, however, only 79 are left.

CoStar Group also examined what had happened to the 388 that had closed.

Although 237 are currently sitting empty, 52 already have either firm plans in place or early planning approval for a change of use or repurposing. The research was done in July.

Mr Stansfield told the BBC he believed the pace of change would soon step up.

He said: “We are increasingly seeing forward-thinking real estate owners getting ahead of the problem and reshaping what are key assets in our town centres to provide a focal point for regeneration.

“I think we’ll see many more plans come to light in the coming months. With these store closures come new opportunities.”

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