Over 300 Phones4U vacancies across the country points to retail pain

60% of bust chain’s stores still empty suggesting weak high-street demand

The collapse of Phones 4U in September last year threatened the loss of 5,000 jobs (PA)

Administrators for one of the biggest high-street collapses of the past year are still struggling to find retailers to move into more than 300 empty stores in a sign that high-street demand for space is slowing.

Phones 4U went bust in September last year, with all 563 stores shutting, but while previous administrations have seen retailers snap up empty stores, 60 per cent of Phones 4U stores remain empty, according to the Local Data Company.

Analysis of 554 former Phones 4U stores found 332 remained closed. The biggest percentage of empty stores was in Yorkshire and the Humber, where just 21 per cent (eight stores) had new occupants. Only two areas managed to see more stores reoccupied: Greater London and North-east England – although both still have 48 per cent of stores remaining empty.

The biggest new occupiers of the sites are Vodafone, taking nearly 134 stores, nearly one in four, EE (55 stores) and O2 (five), while several retailers, including Currys PC World, B&M Bargains, Paperchase and Ernest Jones took individual sites.

The independent retail analyst Richard Hyman suggested that the number of empty shops shows that previous races for space has come to an end. He said: “This is systematic of a bigger shift in the demand for retail space. Demand has definitely dropped off in recent times because there’s more supply than demand. The rush to have as many shops as possible is over. In fact I can see more space closures coming down the line.”

Phones 4U failed after the biggest mobile phone operators pulled their services from the retailer. Phones 4U claimed it was a ploy by the phone companies to reduce the number of independent phone businesses. The phone companies claimed Phones 4U was imposing stricter conditions and demanding large sums up front for selling contracts.

In previous administrations, such as HMV and Blockbuster, administrators have found other retailers to fill stores with little difficulty. Supermarket convenience stores have been expanding particularly quickly, with Morrisons buying up a number of former Blockbusters sites.

However, supermarkets have started to slow expansion, and several other retailers are starting to shut stores. Mothercare is closing shops, particularly on city centre high streets, and Morrisons is also shutting some of the stores it opened after they proved a flop.

There are other signs of retail weakness. Footfall across high streets, shopping centres and retail parks fell by 2 per cent over last month’s Easter holiday compared with the same period last year, according to the data company Springboard.