ABSTRACT
Debenhams finally collapsed in December 2020 with the closure of its remaining 124 stores and the loss of 12,000 jobs. It had struggled for a number of years, falling into administration in April 2019 and, after a High Court battle with its landlords and disgruntled shareholders, making a Company Voluntary Agreement allowing it to renegotiate its rents. In cities and towns up and down the country, councils were being advised by retail agents that they risked missing out on the retail boom because their town center shops were too small and cramped to attract the major retailers. The Clone Town Britain report was based on a self-completed survey covering towns and villages with populations between 5,000 and 150,000. The government response to the emerging crisis in 2018 was swifter than it had been at the time of the Portas Review. COVID has affected the high street in a number of important ways.
