While most of the UK tuck into their turkey on Christmas Day, retailers will be all too aware of another significance to the day – December 25 is the fourth and final rent day of the year.

Already, property agencies are talking about the fallout that will start after Christmas. A list of ten potential casualties is being circulated among agents and they’re just the obvious ones. It’s difficult to see a pattern emerge among those on the list, though. Fashion is struggling and retailers in the mid- or lower end of the market that haven’t carved out a niche for themselves will find it tough. And, aside from fashion, some general merchandise retailers are struggling to find their place.

Yet that list of ten, which may or may not go bust, could be only the tip of the iceberg. A report earlier this week from accountant BDO Stoy Hayward revealed that almost 1,400 retail businesses are expected to go bust next year – an increase of 7 per cent on 2007 levels.

In 2008, 1,382 retailers are expected to go into insolvency, compared with 1,297 this year. This figure represents 0.6 per cent of all retail businesses in the UK.

The rent day on Christmas Day is often the final straw for ailing retailers. Landlords often give retailers extensions that can last about 10 days after the rent is due and, by then, many will have had to throw in their hats.

It is believed that January will be catastrophic for retail casualties. And the majority of those that hit the wall likely occupy a glut of secondary space. When this space is released, it will flood the market. There is still a good chunk of space that landlords can’t get rid of, from retailers that went into administration this year and January’s casualties will only top up the list.

Some retailers that have been trying quietly to offload some of their secondary stores have talked of the difficulty. One fashion retailer, for example, said that it was trying to shift a handful of stores that did not trade profitably, but that the locations were so difficult, it was hard for any other retailers to believe that they could make the sites work.

Retailers are preparing for another tough year in 2008 and empty shops popping up on the high street will only further highlight the downturn.

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