Nottingham city centre has topped the Midlands retail rankings in a national report, surpassing major city centres like Birmingham and Glasgow, as well as popular tourist spots such as Shrewsbury and Chester.

Nottingham city centre has been named the Midlands’ leading retail centre in a national report – beating big city centres like Birmingham and Glasgow - and popular tourist spots like Shrewsbury and Chester.

The statistics, compiled by market research firm Newmark, place the city in 27th place nationally for retail centres, the highest score for any city or town across the Midlands.

The report states: “The top 26-50 includes additional large cities that have seen their ranking increase in 2025. Several of these have seen renovation and redevelopment of space over the last few years, such as demolition of Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham, whilst plans are progressing to convert Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries into a mixed-use scheme. “

Nottingham has been named as a hub for new businesses in the UK | Creative Commons

placeholder image — Nottingham has been named as a hub for new businesses in the UK | Creative Commons

Most impressively, is how far Nottingham city centre has risen since last year - climbing 64 places.

The firm's "Vitality Ranking" report is a detailed study of the health of retail in town centres up and down the country, analysing footfall, shopper spending, vacancy rates and the mix of shops, restaurants and leisure in 1000 major towns and cities and retail centres.

Cambridge was ranked as the top-performing city centre overall.

Birmingham lands in 46th place, Shrewsbury in 41st and Bath in 4th position.