NEW research into High Street retail availability paints a bleak picture for the Midlands region.

The study by commercial real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield suggests the Midlands has the highest number of empty retail units outside of outer London.

The average availability of retail units across Great Britain's top streets was 9.8% at the beginning of August 2010, down from 11.1 per cent in May, and the lowest level of retail availability recorded in the last 18 months.

Despite this, the figure fo......for the full story register now for free or login below...