The woes of recent years for the UK's retail sector are hardly new news. But is the well-worn, arguably rather generalised, line that 'there's too much retail floorspace in the UK' really true, especially when the internet is at play?

We've just seen the latest in a pretty long line of UK retailers announcing reviews of their portfolios with a leading DIY chain revealing a two year store closure programme and another high street retailer saying that a third of its stores are under review from a property perspective – for this company that doesn't mean closures, but it's pretty likely to be a sign of some under-utilisation. And we know from other parts of the retail world that these household names are far from alone.

Some of the UK's foodstore operators are similarly looking at their portfolios. Now that the boom of superstore construction from the last decade has now largely been delivered this is, with hindsight, perhaps to be expected.

So the fact that one of the UK's leading food retailers has revealed that it wants to open 50+ new stores in the UK in the coming year looks to be against the grain - or is it?

There continue to be under-served locations, that's clear enough.

But the investment also comes in more modern forms than bricks and mortar (or steel and glass). All the food retailers, albeit to differing degrees, have rolled out internet shopping's click and collect. This has allowed the traditional arms of their operations to be bolstered by customers who want a different way to undertake the weekly (or daily for some) grocery chore. And the planning system is keeping up (after a fashion) with changes this week that will allow such facilities without the need for a specific new grant of planning permission from the local Council.

So, is there too much space or is it the way space is used which needs to change? The latter looks to be the route to success moving forward. 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.