At least one in ten of all UK retailers has been impacted by riots and looting during the past few days of civil unrest, according to analysis by the Local Data Company.

The company said that, after four days of unrest, 28 town centres had been reported as having been impacted by riots and looting, along with some stand-alone supermarkets and retail parks.

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In all, it claimed, 48,404 shops, pubs, restaurants and clubs had been directly or indirectly impacted by the disorder, out of nearly 476,000 retail and leisure premises tracked across Great Britain.

Independent businesses with fewer than five outlets make up nearly two-thirds of that number, the company said, meaning that they “have the most to lose”.

Matthew Hopkinson, director at the Local Data Company, said: “These figures are horrifying in terms of the damage that has been done to an already struggling sector.

“These businesses are the livelihoods of many people and the ability to bounce back from this has yet to be seen.

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“It is important that the law-abiding majority offer as much support as they can to these affected businesses.”

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