With 18 pubs closing every week, what does the future hold for the 50,000 that remain? The environment seems bleak: increased tax on alcohol, a decreasing drinking culture among millennials and economic uncertainty are three headline reasons for pessimism, but is there reason to be hopeful? 

With a seemingly never-ending list of household names announcing store closures, it may not come as a huge surprise to learn that we are losing high street businesses at an unprecedented rate. Latest research by Red Flag Alert shows that over 180,000 limited companies operating in the retail sector ceased trading in the years between 2010 and 2017. What is perhaps more shocking, however, is that in the first 5 months of 2018 alone, over 20,000 retail companies have closed their doors for good.