Strong provincial cities are making a comeback in the UK retail hierarchy, according to research from location analysts CACI, but London’s West End still dominates the UK retail scene.

The company used retail transactional data alongside other measures to establish the potential of more than 2,000 retail pitches across the country.

While the research found that the UK’s major cities were holding their position in retail’s premier league, it also showed a number of new locations were growing their market share.

CACI Head of Consultancy Ken Gunn said: ‘Those towns that have good retail facilities and a strong provision of upscale occupiers have seen increased expenditure, and have moved up CACI’s retail ranking. These include Cambridge, Guildford, Chester, Canterbury and Peterborough.’