A huge number of town centre leases across the North will be approaching expiry in the next few years. The absence of demand for many of these units means there is little prospect of their leases being renewed, hence the widespread talk of a ticking timebomb for the sector.

This issue means any recovery in high street occupancy rates hangs in the balance.

The supply of anything but the most prime retail space continues to outstrip demand. There is a gulf emerging between persistent vacancies in secondary locations and uber-prime "destinations", such as the new Victoria Gate centre in Leeds.

Retailers have, of course, just experienced their worst Christmas trading for 20 years. The improved figures for January merely reflect the attractiveness of discounted selling periods

Total retail sales dropped 0.6% year-on-year to £40.5bn in December according to ONS, due largely to a 1.5% fall in store spend to £34.8bn. Online sales grew 7.7% compared with 2014, to £5.7bn, with sales via mobile growing by 40%.

Within the grocery sector, some supermarkets have recently announced store closure programmes, but the big players are finding it hard to reduce their store portfolios.

Supermarkets are struggling to shrink space because of existing lease structures and for fear of creating additional competition by transferring sales to direct competitors. So instead there is an increased focus on extracting value from surplus sites and land banks.

Within the broader retail market we continue to see a polarisation between the high-end retailers and the hard discounters resulting in a squeeze on middle-market retailers, particularly in fashion.  The next few years could see potential consolidation among the discounters as clear winners in this high street battle start to emerge.

Although we anticipate that consumer spending in the North will increase during 2016, it is expected that spend will continue to shift from goods to experience. The consequence is that retailers in the North run the risk of losing out to leisure operators for that additional consumer spend unless they can provide a differentiated offer and compelling reason for the customer to part with their cash

If they are going to battle back successfully, retailers need to make not only the customer experience, but also their product ranges, more personal and relevant.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.