Accountancy firm Deloitte has said that the high street is showing “great resilience” despite the retail collapses of recent years.

In a study which compiled data from 27 major company administrations since 2009 and data from the Local Data Company, Deloitte found that only one in five High Street shops affected by the biggest retail collapses of the last five years is still vacant.

It added that the High Street was outperforming retail parks and shopping centres when it came to re-occupying empty shops.

Deloitte found that the average vacancy rate for the High Street is 20%, rising to 29% for shopping centres and 37% for retail parks.

The author of the report, Hugo Clarke, commented: "The results of this research are surprising and seem to challenge a number of myths around the state of the High Street.

"They would suggest that far from being dead, the High Street appears to be showing great resilience and a capacity for re-invention. It seems that a structural shift is taking place with the High Street emerging as an unexpected winner."