Empty Scottish retail units 'a fifth higher than pre-pandemic'

During the first quarter of this year, the Scottish vacancy rate remained 15.7% for the fourth consecutive quarter.

The latest Scottish Retail Consortium and Local Data Company figures showed that on the high street, vacancies also remained unchanged at 14.8%.

Shopping centre vacancies worsened marginally to 20.6% in the first quarter, from 20.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022.