Nearly one in six retail premises in Scotland is lying empty, up by a quarter over the past year, and could worsen further, according to new data.

The vacancy rate for the second quarter of this year was 16.1 per cent, a new six-year high and up by 3.2 percentage points on the same period last year, the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Local Data Company (LDC) have revealed.

Empty-shop figures escalated across the board from the first quarter of this year, in shopping centres, retail parks and on the high street. Overall the retail vacancy rate in Scotland in the first three months of this year stood at 15.3 per cent.

Nearly one in six Scottish retail units empty, prompting renewed call to reinvigorate sector