Big high street retail chain to close ANOTHER shop after already shutting 35 sites following rescue deal

The Sun

06-05-2025

A POPULAR high street fashion brand is shutting another store just months after collapsing into liquidation — and locals are gutted.
Select, which has already closed 35 stores across the UK, is now preparing to pull the shutters down on its Grantham branch for good on May 10.
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Posting the heartbreaking news on Facebook, the store said: 'It is with a heavy heart that we tell all our lovely customers that our store will be closing.
"As far as we are aware our last trading day is 10th May. I just want to take a minute to say thank you for all your support over the years.'
Shoppers in the Lincolnshire town were quick to share their dismay, with one writing: 'We will soon have no clothing stores left in Grantham.'
Another said: 'Are you kidding me.'
A third added: 'Nooo! This is awful news!'
And a fourth chimed in: 'Oh wow we literally have nothing in this town – such bloody shame x.'
The store wasn't included in the initial list of 35 closures in March — but it highlights the growing struggles faced by the troubled fashion chain.
The retailer — once a staple of budget-friendly fashion on the high street — entered Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) in April, first reported by The Sun, after struggling with mounting financial pressures.
Advisers from insolvency firm Moorfields have been appointed to wind up the business, with 40 stores shut immediately and staff left without redundancy pay or wages.
An email sent to employees, seen by The Sun, confirmed that weekly wages would not be paid, and that workers would need to apply for support through the government's Redundancy Payment Service (RPS).
Why are shops closing stores?
Staff at the 48 Select branches still trading were told their pay would be 'delayed', with a promise that wages would be processed the following week. However, many say they've since been met with radio silence.
Some were even told to expect a small advance payment to tide them over — but that never came through. It's understood that during the liquidation meeting, Select's bank accounts were frozen, leaving both stores and staff in limbo.
The future of the remaining stores remains uncertain, with workers and shoppers alike left wondering what's next for the struggling fashion retailer.
Elsewhere, Smiggle, known for its colourful, quirky pens, lunchboxes and school bags, revealed that it is shutting up shop at the Darwin Centre in Shrewsbury later this month.
Whilst, B.D Price, a beloved toy and bike store announced its closure after 160 years in business.
The 84-year-old owner revealed that the cost of living crisis has led to a reduction in sales and to the costs of running the business skyrocketing.
The news comes as both independent and industry giants have been struggling with rising costs and reduced footfall over the past few years.
Dozens of shops are set to close across the country before the end of the month in the latest blow to UK high streets.
Just a few months into 2025 and it's already proving to be another tough year for many major brands.
Rising living costs - which mean shoppers have less cash to burn - and an increase in online shopping has battered retail in recent years.
In some cases, landlords are either unwilling or unable to invest in keeping shops open, further speeding up the closures.
Smiggle isn't the only stationary shop shutting its doors, more WHSmiths stores are set to close this month.
Whilst, Red Menswear in Chatham in Medway, Kent, shut for the final time on Saturday, March 29, after selling men's clothing since 1999.
A couple months ago, Essential Vintage told followers on social that it would be closing down after they had been "priced out" because of bigger players in the market such as Vinted.
Jewellery brand Beaverbrooks is also shutting three shops early this month.
New Look bosses made the decision to axe nearly 100 branches as they battle challenges linked to Autumn Budget tax changes.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer's 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
It's understood the latest drive to accelerate closures is driven by the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.
The move, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, is hitting retailers hard - and the British Retail Consortium has predicted these changes will create a £2.3billion bill for the sector.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR 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."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."