Retail Market Overview

  • 2025 was certainly an interesting year and despite the economic gloom and doom that seems to be coming out of the government, retail held up fairly well across the board.
Birmingham New Street in the summer of 2025

  • London with pretty substantial tourism this year has continued to defy any downturn and rents have held up well and have increased in some areas with Oxford Street now having recovered to more or less its former glory.

  • Nationally there has been steady retail expansion but softer deals are still possible in many areas especially shopping centres where there is generally an oversupply of units to retail demand.

  • There are exceptions to every rule though when a major new brand like Oseyo open in Manchester Arndale last year.

Manchester Arndale queue for Oseyo opening last year
  • Other players in the market have been Clarks Shoes, TJ Lewin, Savers, Zara, Primark, Clinton Cards (but we suspect the Card market will die due to postage expense and delays), Superdrug, Rush Hair, The White Company, Holland and Barrett, Peacocks to name but a few and new gift shops like The London Family.
Bloomsbury Street London
  • The hike and national insurance however has created the biggest damage to retail and had and it has certainly affected the food and beverage sector with many restaurants cutting back on staff.
  • The main concern for retailers this year will be the Rates hike that will hit a lot of the High Street due in April plus the loss of the old pandemic 40% relief.
  • Despite much lobbying by the retail industry, successive governments do not seem to pay much attention.
  • What is clear throughout last year the main driver of High Street expansion was from food retailers, gyms & leisure as more shoppers are after an experience they can’t get shopping online, with a good example being the former BHS flagship store on Oxford Street turning into an urban minigolf venue.
  • Companies like Planet Fitness, Any Time fitness gyms, Life yoga, Pump muscle gym, Wellness medical requirement, Step Fitness along with Paddle tennis seems taking off.
  • The main shakers and movers on the fast food/coffee front were Gails, Black Sheep Coffee, Greggs, BK who continue to make inroads into the market formally dominated by Starbucks and Costa.
  • Retail parks have continued to dominate, and many cases continue to damage some town centres, by their relative greater attraction for customers, with free car parking generally and some of the big brands having moved out to them from town centres like Bournemouth.

  • UK Bank closures continue and there will be very few if any branches left, before too long as everything becomes on line and cash fades away nearly completely.

Oseyo Sheffield
  • The main players on the supermarket front are still Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsburys along with Marks & Spencer, who have very much turn the corner generally.

  • Asian food stores are beginning to saturate the market, with the lead player still being Oseyo, the South Korean originated company with now approaching 25 national High Street stores open or to trade.

Oseyo Sheffield

  • W H Smith continue to have troubles with the big news last year that they had sold all their High Street shops to Modella Capital and  now trading as “TG Jones”.

  • The Charity High Street market remains relatively strong, although Scope in March were trying to get rid of some 36 of their branches.
  • We think that 2026 will not change dramatically but higher unemployment and taxation will dampen retail expansion and when the new rating list comes online in April, could well see some retailers sadly evaporating.
  • AI will make shopping online easier for customers but may help shoppers find a local retailer easier is the hope too!
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