Multiple high street retailers and food chains will be leaving the high street this coming week as store closures continue to be an issue for the UK economy.
In 2025, more than 17,000 stores are set to close for good as businesses face a higher tax burden following the policies implemented by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after her Autumn Budget.
These figures from the Centre for Retail Research suggest that the "worse is yet to come" after it reported that 13,479 shop doors shut down one last time in 2024, a 28 per cent increase from the year before.
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Store closures are ramping up next week
PA
Here is a full list of the major retailers and food chains shutting down stores and locations for the week beginning May 28, 2025:
- WHSmith
- Aldi
- Costa Coffee
- Oxfam
- Bimbi
- JoJo Maman Bébé.
WHSmith
The popular convenience store chain has confirmed two of its sites will be given the axe in the days ahead. These include:
- Newport, Wales
- Haverhill, Suffolk.
The majority of WHSmith stores are set to be rebranded to TGJones as part of the business's looming restructuring plan.
Oxfam
On April 26, the charity will shut down its Ludlow location as part of its downsizing efforts on the high street.
JoJo Maman Bebe
Next week, the boutique baby and mother brand will close down its Haywards Heath location.
Bimbi
Joining these retailers, Bimbi has confirmed its Bury St Edmunds location is earmarked for closure.
Aldi
Today (April 27) is the last day shoppers in Llanelli will be able to shop locally as the Swanfield Place will be closing its doors.
Residents will now need to travel to the Trostre Road branch, which is nearly 1.5 miles away.
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The latest closures are another blow to the British high street
PACosta Coffee
One of the country's biggest coffee chains is axing its Lyme Regis location on May 1, 2025.
Retailers have blamed the Chancellor's National Insurance hike on the state of closures, with the rate of employers' contributions rising to 15 per cent.
Based on figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the retail sector is facing an additional £70billion added to its tax bill.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, the research director at The Centre for Retail Research, said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
