The vacancy rate on Aberdeen’s high streets has decreased to its lowest point in two years, with an average rate across 11 streets in the Granite City dropping to 18.5%, as per the most recent on-foot survey conducted this August by the Press & Journal.
The census also takes in Aberdeen’s ever-changing shopping centres – where the vacancy rate has risen slightly.
At its lowest in the past two years, just over one in ten units were empty on average across the centres. Eight months later, that figure has risen to 15.5%. Nevertheless, this is still an improvement compared to the vacancy rate in August 2023, when nearly 20% of units were unoccupied.
The P&J survey of 640 high street units revealed:
- More units occupied on the high street than those closed, including one that has been vacant for over ten years
- The food and drink sector has continued to expand in Aberdeen
- Union Square is not the only shopping centre experiencing recent success in filling its units.
During the P&J census, out of 453 units tracked, 83 were vacant.
Thistle Street recorded the lowest vacancy rate with just one empty unit. Conversely, half of the properties on Schoolhill were unoccupied. Gaelic Lane also had a 50% vacancy rate, but it consists of only two units.
Four out of 12 units on Back Wynd are vacant, with two out of eight on Little Belmont Street, and Rose Street currently has just one vacant property.
Union Street was the only other street with a vacancy rate above 20%.
Food and beverage establishments now represent 35.8% of the occupied properties on the high street, while the share of retail units has dipped below 30%.
In the last two years, health and wellness businesses and banking-related establishments have also seen a decrease. Food and beverage is the only sector to have experienced a significant increase, while hair and beauty, entertainment, and gambling have seen slight rises.
So far this year, more businesses have opened than closed on the high streets. Up until August, there have been at least 52 unit transitions recorded, with over two-thirds (67.3%) resulting in a unit being occupied.
In some instances, an occupied unit may change ownership and name, but this frequently leads to the filling of a previously vacant unit.
Some of these transitions suggest encouraging trends for our long-term vacant properties. The launch of Chapel Street Studio has revitalised a unit that had been empty for over a decade. It was last occupied by Marie Curie Cancer Care in 2014, making it the sixth longest-vacant unit on Aberdeen’s high streets.
FG Burnett has also been monitoring Aberdeen city center, with retail specialist Richard Noble documenting biannual changes along Union Street. Their most recent survey was conducted at the start of August, revealing that the Granite Mile had 23% vacancy. Although this figure has decreased during the month, one in five units remains empty on this popular shopping avenue.
Over a fifth of the occupied units on Aberdeen’s high street are dedicated to restaurants or cafes (21.77%). This category significantly outpaces others, boasting 81 unique filled units.
In contrast, the second largest subcategory has fewer than a third of that amount, with 25 units classified as ‘other,’ which do not fit neatly into our established definitions.
Pubs and bars take third place, taking up 24 units (6.45%).
The retail category is divided into various types of sellers, ranging from florists to clothing stores. The largest retail segment was “other shops,” accounting for 5.91%.
Vape shops have nearly doubled on Union Street alone over the last two years, yet they represent less than 3% of the total street, while the number of barbers has increased by 50% since 2023.