The collapse of the Debenhams and Arcadia retail empires is likely to leave large gaps in High Streets and shopping centres up and down the UK.

If history is a guide, it may be years until some of these shops reopen, while many never will.

It is now more than four years since the closure of BHS, the last large department store chain to be wiped from the High Street.

Yet 24% of its stores still lie empty.

Those premises that have been put to use have been snapped up by expanding brands such as Primark, B&M Bargains, H&M and Sports Direct, says Ronald Nyakairu, senior manager at the Local Data Company (LDC)

But even among smaller stores which closed their doors amid the slow decline of bricks-and-mortar retailers before coronavirus, many are vacant or have been demolished or converted, according to LDC data. 

Its analysis suggests that bigger premises, such as those formerly occupied by Toys 'R' Us or House of Fraser, have been harder to re-let.

This probably spells a permanent change that landlords and local authorities need to get used to and even seize, says Bill Grimsey, former head of Wickes, Iceland and Focus DIY. He has led three reports into the future of town centres and High Streets.

"You can't rely on retail any more for your town centres and High Streets as the main attraction, because of technology, because of the internet," he says.

"You need to reinvent these places for something else because we are social animals and we need to have a place to congregate and it won't be just shops."