Matthew Hopkinson, of the Local Data Company, said that the impact of Brexit was clear

There has been a sharp slowdown in shop openings in the second quarter of the year as the impact of Brexit and waning confidence begin to bite.

Figures from the Local Data Company have revealed an 84 per cent decline in new shop openings in the second quarter compared with the same time last year.

The impact of the slowdown has resulted in a net loss of 207 outlets across the country in the three-month period compared with a net increase of 1,284 shops in the first quarter of this year.

The data provider said that the net difference between the first and second quarters represented the biggest fall in a consecutive period for five years and showed that economic uncertainty was “permeating across all