Belfast city centre offers retailers the best value compared with any other location in the UK, an exclusive ranking for Retail Week has revealed.
The Northern Irish capital was 13th in the Top 25 most desirable retail locations, but was the cheapest place to set up shop – offering lower costs than the likes of Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Edinburgh.
The ranking, which was compiled by JDM Retail and HSBC, scored retail locations based on their sales performance, footfall impressions and their occupancy costs to find the most desirable places for retailers to operate.
JDM Retail founder and chief executive Jonathan De Mello said: “Selecting locations that perform well from a sales perspective and also drive brand equity through high footfall is key. However, this needs to be balanced against the cost of trading. Managing cost has become mission-critical for retailers in light of very high inflation – including occupancy costs.
“Belfast benefits from relatively low occupancy costs when compared with the rest of the top 25, whilst serving a very wide catchment area. For any retailer seeking meaningful market share in Northern Ireland, trading in Belfast is a necessity.”
Belfast scored 183 on occupancy costs, considerably cheaper than the second cheapest, Gateshead Metrocentre with 161 points. The next cheapest city centre to run a store was Edinburgh with 149 points.
The occupancy cost score took into account the approximate combined cost per sq ft of occupying a prime retail unit measuring between 1,000-2,000 sq ft, combining lease information from recent lettings (rent and service charge) and 2023 VOA rateable values.
When it came to the overall weighted score, London’s West End topped the ranking as the most desirable retail location, but outside of the capital, Manchester was the next best city centre for retailers, outpacing Liverpool by three places.
In Scotland, Glasgow was found to be a more desirable retail location than Edinburgh, offering retailers a better sales performance and higher footfall than the nation’s capital, albeit at a higher occupancy cost.
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