What Are The Risks Facing Empty Retail Units?

Leaving a retail unit or premises vacant for any period of time brings with it a unique risk landscape. Alongside the challenge of finding the right brand to make use of the space, trespassers, vandalism and illegal squatting can and do impact your investment. Couple that with potential legal issues, and the risks become even clearer.

Sting In The Retail: The Hidden Risks Plaguing Vacant Retail Units

Any vacant property is at risk from a range of factors, including trespassing, theft, vandalism, and squatting. Retailer premises have those issues magnified, given that they’re often in built-up areas with constant foot traffic, as well as often having a recognisable name plastered across their exterior.

Here’s a selection of the most prominent risks facing empty retail properties, why they matter, and what you can do to combat them.

Trespassing & Urban Exploration

In recent years, the concept of urban exploration (often referred to as “urbex”) has become a major thorn in the side of vacant property owners and operators. That’s particularly true for high-street or well-known retailers, as we’ve seen with local stories like this from Congleton in Cheshire.

In essence, this is a glamourised form of trespassing, where (predominantly) young people gain entry to an abandoned or disused premises for the purposes of filming and “exploring” the now-empty premises.

Popularised by the rise of viral content and platforms like TikTok, urban exploration is concerning in multiple aspects. Criminal damage is a major worry – the UK saw an estimated 445,995 offences in 2025 – and even accidental damage can lead to costly repairs and a delay in finding a new tenant or buyer for your vacant retail premises.

There’s also the very real risk of other illegal activities, like drug usage or sexual assault, becoming commonplace at premises that are viewed as a target for trespassers. Drug crime saw its sharpest increase in more than a decade, rising by 18% over 2024’s figures.

It also raises legislative and compliance concerns. With the Occupiers’ Liability Act tying property owners to culpability if an injury occurs even when they’re away, the rise in urbex and its implications are far-reaching. 

Asset & Material Theft

Vacant retail properties aren’t always a planned occurrence. There’s a host of situations that can prompt a last-second, unplanned close, including:

• Emergencies (the pandemic was a clear example of how vacancy can strike without warning)
• Urgent repairs (like asbestos removal or critical remedial works) 
• Dwindling finances
• Rising rental or upkeep costs
• Difficulties in accessing the property
• Legislative concerns leading to imposed closures

Those rapid, unforecasted closures mean that asset theft is a very real threat. As we saw in our previous example with the closure of a former shopping centre in Congleton, assets (such as furniture, crockery, stock and even technology) can often remain in situ long after the boards have been put up and doors have been locked.

Equally, prolonged closures still have that risk of theft. Metal theft is a proven epidemic in the UK, with the latest reports estimating that the practice costs UK businesses in excess of £500 million every year. Disused retail units are at particular risk, especially those that store food, as fridges, freezers, coolers and chilled cabinets all have extensive piping, wiring and refrigerants that can be a target for criminals.

Occupiers’ Liability Act Breaches

A hidden but no less concerning pitfall for any vacant property is the risk of claims arising as a result of the Occupiers’ Liability Act. Under its most recent version (Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984), the Act states that, if the owner of the property is aware of the danger and hasn’t put measures into place to mitigate the risk, they’re liable for any injuries that might occur.

The amendment issued in 1984 means that this applies to trespassers, even if they access your property illegally or via methods that you’d not planned for (using a structure to climb onto the roof, for example). 

Vacant retailers are particularly at risk from this, given that they’ll often be in areas that see high footfall with rear entrances that are hidden from view or off the beaten track. That, coupled with the often recognisable names and branding that characterise the retail industry, means they paint clear targets for opportunistic trespassers and intruders.

Breaches of the Act can carry significant penalties. Even if you’d planned to sell on the property very soon, or have a prospective buyer/renter lined up, a single claim under the Act can delay plans, cost you tens of thousands in legal and compensatory fees, and even see you debarred from future sales in egregious circumstances.

Our sister guide to trespassing on a construction site discusses the Act in much greater depth, and how its implications can spell dire consequences where there’s insufficient protection to deter trespassers.

Illegal Squatting

A thorny legal issue at the best of times, squatting is often top of the list (alongside criminal damage and theft) of concerns for vacant retail property owners. Understandably so – stories like this from Bath city centre show that the practice of illegal squatting is all too common, with trespassers using a former shoe shop as a base of operations.

What’s important to note here is that this was a highly visible, city-centre premises that had been commandeered not long after its closure in early October (the report was made in late November). It’s concrete proof that, while we’d imagine squatters to use more out-of-the-way premises, more built-up areas are equally at risk.

Squatters do, of course, spark further concerns. The story we’ve linked above alludes to waste being left behind at the empty premises, while other vacant properties that have attracted squatters – like this former Marks & Spencer shopfront in Bolton – are still under investigation by civil services into the nature of the squatting.

That’s only what we see on the surface, however, and there’s a deepening issue at the core of vacant property squatting that goes beyond eviction notices. A story emerged in January of this year that saw oriental supermarket WaNaHong battle with squatting at a temporarily vacant warehouse in Barking, with squatters demanding “payment” to move on and brandishing tools as weapons.

Given the difficult and often complex nature of laws around squatting, there’s so often an ensuing legal battle that can prolong the sale or rental of a vacant retail property that’s been used as a squat.

Vandalism & Antisocial Behaviour

Perhaps the most “visible” consequence of any prolonged vacancy at a commercial property, vandalism (like graffiti) and antisocial behaviour are a massive consideration for those who own vacant properties. It reflects poorly on town and city centres, but it’s also likely to have an impact on the return on your investment.

We’re seeing this manifest itself in areas across the country. This story about a former Debenhams store in Nottingham saw multiple groups of young people damaging the property, alongside the previously mentioned issues of urban exploration and trespassing. It’s a damning indictment of what would’ve once been a major feature of the Old Market Square.

That’s also impacted other city-centre businesses, with one manager estimating that sales on the day after the incident dipped by 70%. It’s easy to view vacant property as an issue for its owner, but t the impacts are wider-reaching than that. 

Antisocial behaviour also opens the door to further offences. Drug usage in vacant properties is a well-documented issue, and it can (and does) act as a “gateway” to further offences, and brings with it further costs to the building owner for any necessary clean-ups designed to bring the premises back to a state where it’s appealing to possible buyers.

We’d also point towards vandalism as one of the primary causes of properties becoming vacant in the first place, and potentially staying that way. A report from the British Property Foundation found that it typically takes between 12 and 18 months for a retail unit to become reoccupied, from a sample size of more than 14,000 vacant retail units.

Fly-Tipping & Illegal Waste Disposal

Often a byproduct of repeated trespassing or illegal squatting, fly-tipping is a problem that has far-reaching consequences. While rural fly-tipping is an issue in its own right, with leaking fluids and decomposing rubbish bleeding into farms and nature, urban fly-tipping has a separate set of consequences.

Vacant commercial units are at particular risk. While most littering will be innocuous in its scope, it’s still a crime, and it’s often just the start of a larger-scale issue with fly-tipping. Persistent offenders often view a vacant property as a “guilt-free” way to throw something away, but that’s simply not true.

We’re also seeing this coincide with long-term vacancies, as is the case with a derelict supermarket in Worcester, which has become the target for repeated fly-tipping offences, alongside graffiti, trespassing, drug usage, and – perhaps more gruesomely – use of the premises as an open-air toilet.

Drug use itself also sparks concerns for illegal waste disposal, especially where needles or other paraphernalia are concerned. These don’t just present a worry when it comes to aesthetics – they can be outright dangerous.

Reputational Loss & Unit Depreciation

Our final point is difficult to quantify, but no less worrying for the conscientious vacant property owner. While some will opt to use letting agents or specialists like Savill’s to sell their property, there’s still the risk of reputational damage and depreciation of value, as well as the chance that prospective buyers will see those stories.

Of course, outsourcing your property sale can be beneficial in this regard, as we saw with the actions taken by Savill’s to remove squatters from a shopfront in Bath. However, that’s not to say that news doesn’t spread fast and still have that negative impact – that’s evident through the fact that this story was covered so rapidly by local news.

There’s also the chance you might lose out on potential sales as a direct result of your vacant retail unit attracting the wrong kinds of attention. 

Data from the British Property Foundation shows that reoccupancy takes over 2 years in almost a third of all vacant retail units, and while we’re not at the heights of vacancy that we were during the COVID pandemic, we’re only a fraction of a percentage away (15.3% in the latest data, compared with 15.8% during the pandemic).

It’s statistics like these that underscore the importance of protecting your assets now, to avoid those pitfalls further down the line. Here’s what we’d recommend.

Facing Up To The Issues: How You Can Combat Vacant Commercial Property Risks

You must implement some form of security measures for your vacant property. Not doing so leaves you vulnerable to a range of different threats as we’ve just seen, but perhaps the most concerning is the threat of legal action as a result of Occupiers’ Liability Act breaches. There are a range of options at your disposal to combat those issues, however.

• Implement warning signs. This is non-negotiable. Clear, thorough signage telling possible intruders of any issues (like asbestos, loose flooring, or damaged fixtures and fittings) is essential in mitigating the risks posed by your responsibilities under the Occupiers’ Liability Act, and in protecting accidental trespassers. Our advice here would be to take regular photographs of your signage, just as this could act as supporting evidence in the event of a claim under the Act.
• Set up barriers and fencing. Another must-have for vacant retail units. Most high-street stores will utilise wooden boarding to cover windows and doors, alongside any shutters they might already have, but we’d advise looking at steel/metal boarding if you’re particularly concerned about trespassing. For large-scale retail park units, you should supplement that with Heras fencing, which also acts as an additional area to place warning signage.
• Board up letterboxes thoroughly. While it’s rare, some criminals will see vacant properties as a target for their aggression, posting potentially dangerous items (like chemicals or fireworks) through the letterbox. This is often an area that vacant property owners overlook, but the consequences can be dire if you do.
• Keep open lines of communication with your local council. As squatting is often considered a civil matter until the law is formally broken, it’s a good idea to know  who to contact if you do find that your vacant property falls foul of illegal squatting, as well as your legal rights in that scenario. We’d also advise familiarising yourself with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, which outlines what the laws are and how they apply to commercial premises.
• Invest in temporary security measures. Ideal if you’re actively placing the property on the market, or you’re not looking to invest too heavily in your security measures, temporary measures are the ideal option. Here, we’d advise investing in the VPOD, a visually-verified intruder alarm that works totally autonomously, and connects to our 24/7 National Operations Centre (NOC). Alternatively, for large retail park units, a solar-powered CCTV tower can offer that constant, real-time feed of your property, fed directly to our NOC for round-the-clock monitoring.
• Keep on top of your intruder alarm. If you already have an intruder alarm installed at your property (as many do, we’ve found), you must keep on top of the essential maintenance and monitoring.Partnering with a security provider means any alerts are reported instantly and issues are dealt with immediately
• Consider routine and ad-hoc mobile security patrols. Often recommended for vacant retail units that see substantial foot traffic (like those in city centres, or along main streets), we’d advise looking to implement both routine (say, 3 times per night) and ad-hoc (at different times per night). These accomplish both an additional way to check on your investment, and to show potential trespassers that your premises are still secured.

It all begins with understanding what’s right for your vacant property, however, and that’s where your partnership with ProFM Group begins. We’re able to conduct a thorough, expert-led site assessment for your vacant unit, covering all entrances, vulnerabilities and unique challenges to design a package that’s designed with you in mind.

From there, we’ll mobilise quickly and effectively, delivering your physical security solutions in tandem with any manned guarding packages so your property is protected right up until you hand the keys over.

Looking to get started right away? Give our in-house team a call today on 0808 175 3158, and we’ll walk you through your options, as well as provide a free, no-pressure quote for everything we’d recommend to secure your vacant property.