Tattoo parlours, e-cigarette shops take up UK's vacant retail space

London

TEN years ago, betting shops and pawnbrokers snatched up Britain's vacant retail space. Now, tattoo parlours and e-cigarette merchants are filling that empty space - and there's plenty of it.

One in 10 retail sites in UK town centres is unoccupied, according to researcher Springboard, with the recent collapse of the BHS department-store chain leaving even more space unoccupied.

Among those rushing to fill that void are body artists, who have boosted the number of t…