The number of stores in the centre of the city which lie empty is still way above the national average, according to a new report.
The London-based Local Data Company said more than a sixth of city centre shops – 17.8 per cent – were vacant, compared to the national average of 11.8 per cent.
However, the claim has been criticised by the woman charged with attracting new traders to the area.
City centre director Sarah Harrison said her own survey had found the figure was actually 14.2 per cent and claimed the way the data had been collected by the London firm was flawed.
She said the data was many months old, did not include recent store openings and focused on too large an area of the city.
"They just send people out to count empty units and have no idea whether a store is about to open," she said.
"They also use the Department for Communities and Local Government definition of the city centre, which includes parts outside the ring road, and shops around Welford Place down to the Leicester Tigers ground.
"In our survey, we only look at the streets that make up the shopping area itself, from Granby Street to Highcross."
Ms Harrison said the city centre had benefited from a number of new traders in recent months.
These include shops and restaurants in High Street and Granby Street.
"Things are going brilliantly," she said.
Ms Harrison said her own data showed the vacancy level had fallen from 17.2 per cent over the past year. The Local Data Company would not provide comparable statistics from 12 months ago.
Matthew Hopkinson, of the Local Data Company, said the centre of Leicester suffered from being too spread out.
"There's too much space. You have got to create a smaller area which is more dynamic," said Mr Hopkinson, who lives in south Leicestershire.
His views were echoed by Stuart Delahoy, owner of gift and homewares store Set Design, in High Street, who said parts of Church Gate and Granby Street furthest away from the centre would always struggle to attract tenants.
"I'm surprised the figure is above the national average, to be honest" he said. "I actually think the city centre is vibrant at the moment.
"Some of the areas which find it hard to lease stores should be redesignated for a different use to give the centre a concentrated focus."
The proportion of empty stores in Loughborough was just above the national average at 12.3 per cent, while Hinckley and Coalville matched the average. Wigston was 10.1 per cent and Market Harborough was 4.5 per cent.
The town of Burslem in Staffordshire had the highest proportion of empty stores in Britain, at 29.4 per cent.
