High streets lost 177,000 jobs in a year as experts forecast worse to come in 2021

A further 200,000 job losses are expected next year

Retailers cut 3,400 jobs a week in the past year as shops were forced to close for much of 2020, deepening the problems facing Britain's high streets.

Business rates relief, grants and the furlough scheme were not enough to stop 176,718 retail redundancies, according to a report.

The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) found the number of job cuts was up by almost a quarter on 2019.

Some 71,811 jobs were lost through administrations, including high-profile collapses like Debenhams and Arcadia, which owns Top Shop. A further 92,921 jobs were lost through cost-cutting programmes, an 18.3 per cent increase on 2019.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, a director at the CRR, warned that up to 200,000 jobs could vanish in 2021.

"Our forecast is based upon a number of factors such as the cumulative effects of months of closure and its impact upon cash flow and rent arrears that will be payable when the moratorium ends," he said.

"Whilst the longer-term effects of the greater use by shoppers of all kinds of online retailing is likely to be hugely damaging for physical stores."

Retailers face a further financial blow as coronavirus spreads rapidly again, with non-essential shops ordered to close their doors across swathes of the country.

Altus Group, a property consultancy, estimated that around 436,000 business premises in England are now closed under Tier 3 and 4 restrictions, including 310,504 non-essential shops, 27,028 restaurants and 37,581 pubs.

Robert Hayton, head of property tax at Altus Group, called on the government to offer further business rates relief. 

He said: "It is crucial that government ensures future support is targeted to where it is needed, including funding the Valuation Office so it can expedite settlement of the tens of thousands of formal challenges against business rates assessments that must now be reduced to reflect the impact of Covid before bills are sent out."