The Co-operative Bank has ranked Bradford as the UK city where charity shops face the greatest challenges in 2026, with a high street vacancy rate of 18 per cent, the highest of the 10 cities in its table.
The bank’s analysis, published on 23 September, scored cities on retail rents, volunteering rates, five-year business survival rates, high street shop vacancies and regional retail footfall. Liverpool was placed second and Stoke-on-Trent third.
A separate table in the same analysis named Norwich as the city with the most charity shops relative to its population.
Bradford received a final score of 6.29. The bank said 16 per cent of people in the city volunteer at least once a month, and that the retail footfall index for Yorkshire and the Humber was 98.72, the lowest in the ranking.
The index is drawn from Office for National Statistics retail footfall data and averages footfall in towns and cities across 2024 to 2026 against a 2023 baseline of 100, according to the bank’s methodology. A score below 100 indicates lower footfall than in 2023.
The bank said the Bradford reading was “potentially making it harder for charity shops to attract passing customers”.
Liverpool scored 6.22. Its high street vacancy rate of 9.5 per cent was described by the bank as relatively low, but its five-year business survival rate of 27.5 per cent was the lowest in the top 10. The bank put the share of people in the city volunteering at least once a month at 14 per cent.
Stoke-on-Trent scored 6.11. It had the lowest retail rents of the 10 cities, at £8.91 per sq m per year, but a high street vacancy rate of 16.3 per cent, second only to Bradford. Its volunteering rate of 13 per cent was the lowest in the ranking.
London was fourth with a score of 5.93. The capital had the highest rent in the table, at £64.40 per sq m, alongside the lowest vacancy rate, at 7.4 per cent, and the highest footfall index, at 113.32.
Birmingham, Coventry, Aberdeen, Leeds, Brighton and Plymouth completed the top 10.
The bank’s methodology lists Zoopla and LoopNet as its sources for rents, Centre for Cities for vacancy rates and the Office for National Statistics for business survival rates.
Norwich has 59 charity shops for a population of 147,182, the bank found, or 4.01 per 10,000 residents. Nottingham followed with 3.72 and Bristol with 2.77.
Bristol had the largest number of shops among the 10 densest cities, at 137. Exeter, Cambridge, Southampton, Glasgow, York and Derby came next, with Edinburgh 10th at 1.67 per 10,000 residents.
The bank said charity shops were operating as high streets faced pressures including high running costs and a decrease in the quality of donations.
Anna Pashley, head of corporate partnerships at the Charity Retail Association, said: “Charity shops play an important role in communities across the UK, not only by generating vital funds for charitable causes, but by providing affordable ways for people to shop more sustainably.”
She added: “However, with rising costs, changing shopping habits and ongoing pressure on high streets, many charity retailers are navigating an increasingly challenging operating environment while continuing to deliver vital support for charities and communities.”
Amy McFayden, relationship manager at The Co-operative Bank, said: “Charity shops play a vital role in supporting communities and fundraising for good causes, but many are operating in an increasingly challenging environment. Keeping costs under control can help ensure more money reaches the people and projects that need it most.”
McFayden said the bank, a corporate member of the trade association, had “expanded eligibility for our Charity and Community Account and removed the turnover limit”.
