A few of the UK's biggest retailers are due to close branches this year as the high street continues to struggle. Thousands of jobs will go as businesses continue to battle with the Cost of Living Crisis, recover from the impact of Covid as well as the UK leaving the EU.
Retailers are also feeling the pinch due to high inflation, which was sitting at 10.1 per cent in January. Although it's fallen for the third month in a row, food inflation is at a 45-year high, with a supermarket boss warning that grocery prices will remain elevated this year.
That, combined with the surge in energy prices and wages not keeping up, has meant many of our-favourite shops will vanish from the high street. DevonLive has compiled a list of all shops set to close this year.
Wetherspoon
The pub chain announced a number of its pubs are up for sale and some have already been sold and are set to close for good. Thirty-five of the pub giant's establishments are up for sale right now and 19 have already been sold.
Here is the full list of pubs set to close from February:
- Airside Doncaster Airport – Running Horse
- Basildon – Moon on the Square
- Bodmin – Chapel an Gansblydhen
- Bootle – Wild Rose
- Lee Green – Edmund Halley
- Orpington – Harvest Moon
- Taunton – Coal Orchard
- Wick – Alexander Bain
- Worcester – Postal Order
- Wrexham – North and South Wales Bank
Boots
The company has announced three stores will shut forever this Spring:
- Boots, Salford Shopping Centre, Greater Manchester
- Boots, Church Street store in Malvern
- Boots, The Port Arcades Shopping Centre in Ellesmere
B&Q
The locations affected by the closures are:
- Sheffield Drakehouse
- Dagenham
- Roehampton
- Edmonton
- Thurmaston
- Great Bridge
- Lancaster
- Hartlepool
Barclays
The bank has confirmed 15 branches will shut across the UK between late April and early May, The Mirror reports.
- Gosport (43/44 High Street) April 26
- Bedale (18a North End) April 26
- Bridgwater (16 High Street) April 26
- Heywood (2 Church Street) April 28
- Stamford (46/49 Broad Street) April 28
- Oakham (10 High Street) April 28
- Wymondham (45 Market Street) April 28
- London (19 Fleet Street) May 3
- Watton (56 High Street) May 3
- Chislehurst (7 High Street) May 4
- St Helens (19 Church Street) May 4
- Radlett (221 Watling Street) May 5
- Leyburn (Market Place) May 5
- Talbot Green (3 Ely Valley Road) May 5
- Oundle (2 New Street) May 5
Byron Burger
The popular burger chain went into administration last month and nine restaurants were listed as closing immediately across England:
- Bluewater
- Chelmsford
- Edinburgh Lothian Road
- Leeds
- London - Wembley
- Manchester
- Milton Keynes
- Salisbury
- Southampton
H&M
The major high-street fashion brand says a "rapid change in customer behaviour" is to blame for its decision to shut the doors of some branches. Shops in Hartlepool, Maidenhead and on the Isle of Wight have also been earmarked for closure.
The Burton branch, located just over the South Derbyshire border in East Staffordshire, closed for the final time earlier this month, DerbyshireLive reports. Stores affected are:
- Hartlepool, County Durham
- Maidenhead, Berkshire
- Newport, Isle of Wight
- Burton, Staffordshire (already closed)
Lloyds and Halifax
Another 40 bank branches are to be lost from the UK’s high streets, as Lloyds and Halifax announced more closures. More specifically, Lloyds Banking Group, which owns both banks, will shut 22 Lloyds branches and 18 Halifax sites.
The companies said that the closures of the sites, all but one of which are in England, will take place between April and June. A spokesman said: “Branches play an important part in our strategy but we need to have them in the right places, where they are well-used.
“We’ll continue to invest in branches that are being used regularly, alongside our online, mobile app and telephone services.”
Full list of Lloyds bank closures
- Norbury (1433-1435 London Road, SW16 4AG) – April 19, 2023
- Pontefract (21/23 Ropergate, WF8 1LG) – April 20, 2023
- Beckenham (60 High Street, BR3 1ET) – April 20, 2023
- Gillingham (106-108 High Street, ME7 1AX) – April 25, 2023
- Chingford (34 Station Road, E4 7BE) – April 25, 2023
- Dagenham (218 The Heathway, RM10 8QS) – April 26, 2023
- London (8 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4NN) – May 3, 2023
- Ipswich (132 Bramford Road, IP1 4AB) – May 4, 2023
- Weybridge (1C Church Street, KT13 8DA) – May 10, 2023
- Twickenham (17 Heath Road, TW1 4AW) – May 11, 2023
- Whitstable (14 High Street, CT5 1BH) – May 11, 2023
- Beeston (The Square, NG9 1EF) – May 11, 2023
- Wickersley (232 Bawtry Road, S66 1AA) – May 15, 2023
- Borehamwood (189 Shenley Road, WD6 1AW) – May 22, 2023
- Littlehampton (1 Beach Road, BN17 5HY) – May 23, 2023
- Rustington (131 The Street, BN16 3DW) – June 5, 2023
- Aintree (2 Longmoor Lane, L9 0EQ) – June 6, 2023
- Shaftesbury (32 High Street, SP7 8JJ) – June 13, 2023
- Newport (95 High Street, TF10 7AZ) – June 13, 2023
- Ripley (27/29 Oxford Street, DE5 3AH) – June 14, 2023
- Hyde – (2-6 Clarendon Place, SK14 2QZ) – June 21, 2023
- Harrow – (254 Northolt Road, HA2 8DZ) – June 29, 2023
Full list of Halifax closures
- Bangor (243/245 High Street, LL57 1PA) – April 17, 2023
- Chester Le Street (58/60 Front Street, DH3 3BD) – April 19, 2023
- London (50 Fenchurch Street, EC3M 3JY) – April 19, 2023
- Aldershot (24 Union Street, GU11 1DA) – April 26, 2023
- Crouch End (6 Broadway Parade, N8 9DH) – April 27, 2023
- Chorlton-cum-Hardy (579 Barlow Moor Road, M21 8AE) – April 27, 2023
- Golders Green (4/6 North End Road, NW11 7PL) – May 3, 2023
- Putney (171/173 Putney High Street, SW15 1TE) – May 4, 2023
- Norbury (1513 London Road, SW16 4AE)– May 4, 2023
- Surbiton (79 Victoria Road, KT6 4NS) – May 10, 2023
- Chingford (269/271 Chingford Mount Road, E4 8LP) – May 15, 2023
- Redruth (20 Fore Street, TR15 2BD) – May 16, 2023
- Bletchley (47 Queensway, MK2 2ZW) – May 18, 2023
- Maldon (52A High Street, CM9 5UJ) – June 5, 2023
- St Neots (38 High Street, PE19 1BJ) – June 6, 2023
- Whitley Bay (22/24 Park View, NE26 2TH) – June 21, 2023
- Purley (1 Purley Parade, High Street, CR8 2AB) – June 22, 2023
- Grays (48-50 High Street, RM17 6NA) – June 22, 2023
LloydsPharmacy
Sainsbury’s has confirmed that LloydsPharmacy is to axe the pharmacy services it runs across 237 supermarket stores. However, any locations and closure dates are yet to be announced.
M&Co
Fashion giant M&Co has announced it will be closing its 170 stores after falling into administration for the second time in two years. While the company's brand and intellectual property have been bought by Yours Clothing, a takeover agreed following its most recent administration in December does not include a future for its shops, website, or staff.
Paperchase
The company fell into administrations again last month, putting more than 100 stores at risk. It says 820 jobs are now at risk after business behind the stationary chain, Aspen Phoenix Newco Limited, said no viable offers of sale were received.
Stores will remain open and trading for the time being, and shoppers have been urged to use any outstanding gift cards as soon as possible. Practitioners from Begbies Traynor, who have been appointed as administrators, said there had been "significant interest in the Paperchase brand".
TK Maxx and Homesense
Homesense, which is a subsidiary of TK Maxx, sells homeware pieces such as ornaments, storage, home decor and plants.
Affected stores:
- Homesense - Arndale Shopping Centre - Manchester
- Homesense - Parc Fforestfach - Swansea
- TK Maxx - Meadowbank shopping park - Edinburgh (closed on February 15)
