A total of 2,630 stores and nearly 56,000 jobs have been affected by insolvencies in the retail sector so far this year, according to the Centre for Retail Research. This compares with 2,051 stores and 46,500 jobs affected during the whole of 2019. With a number of retailers falling into insolvency having been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown, 24,000 jobs have been lost across the sector already in 2020.
Joshua Bamfield, director at the Centre for Retail Research, said the end of the furlough scheme and the end of a moratorium on lease forfeits could see further cuts. "The second half of the year could be disastrous for high streets," he warned.
Read More: The Daily Telegraph