The number of charity shops in Great Britain fell by 119 in the first six months of 2018, new figures show.
Figures compiled by the data directory business the Local Data Company for its Retail & Leisure Trends Report show that in the first half of this year 309 charity shops opened between January and the end of June, while 428 closed their doors.
In comparison, there was a net loss of 692 pubs and inns over the same time period, 171 women’s clothes shops and 114 hairdressers.
Last year there was a net loss of 69, with 217 shops closing and 202 opening.
Charity shops with just one branch fared better than charity shops in chains, the study found, with a net loss of 11 independent charity shops, or 0.5 per cent of those on Britain’s high streets, compared to 108 or 1.2 per cent of chain charity shops.
The only part of the country where more charity shops opened than closed was Yorkshire and the Humber, which gained five charity shops after 38 closed and 43 opened. In south-west England, numbers held steady, with 43 closures and the same number of openings
South-east England saw the most closures (48) but also the most openings (69), leading to a net loss of 21 shops.
The hardest hit area was Scotland, which lost 25 charity shops, with 35 closures and just 10 openings.
Research published by the Charity Retail Association in August revealed that there were more than 11,000 charity shops across the UK.
