High street chains closing stores in May including Poundland and Shoe Zone
Several well-known high street retailers and chains will be closing over the next few weeks. It is well-known that the British high street has struggled over the last few years.
With lower footfall and higher running costs, many beloved chains have had to tighten their belts, and in some cases, it has meant closing their brick-and-mortar stores.
The Centre for Retail Research predicts that 17,349 shops will close in 2025, a sharp increase from the 13,479 closures recorded last year. The hike in closures is expected because of the government's change to business National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the rise in the national minimum wage, which came into effect in April.
However, it is important to note that retailers close stores for a variety of reasons, and it doesn't just mean they are in trouble. Some close because the tenancy has come to an end on the site, or because the branch is not as profitable as others. Here we have listed all of the retailers with sites pulling down shutters over the coming few weeks.
WHSmith
Three WHSmith stores will be closing this month, as it pushes ahead with its plan to shift away focus on its high street branches onto travel hubs. Last month, the stationary retailer sold off almost 500 branches to Modella Capital, with the stores set to be eventually rebranded as TGJones. Around 20 WHSmith stores are set to close in the coming weeks.
The stores closing in May are:
Oldham, Greater Manchester – May 3
West Mall, Frenchgate Centre, Doncaster – May 3
Stockton, County Durham – May 17
Natwest
Natwest will be closing 21 high street bank branches in May, with a total of 53 set to close before the end of June. According to consumer experts at Which?, over 6,000 high-street bank branches have closed in the last decade – and more than 1,400 of those were in the NatWest Group, which consists of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank.
The branches shutting next month are:
Windermere, May 1
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, May 1
Hollinwood, May 7
Sheffield, May 7
Widnes, May 8
Morley, May 8
Cannock, May 12
Eanam, May 12
Urmston, May 13
Allenton, May 13
Aintree Black Bull, May 14
Goole, May 14
Farnworth, May 15
Leyland, May 15
Wilmslow, May 20
Trafford Park, May 20
Basford, May 21
Wallasey, May 21
Louth, May 28
Rawtenstall, May 29
Long Eaton, May 29
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Banking Group announced the closure of 136 high street branches of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland in January. Like other high street banks, Lloyds said the closure come due to the rise in online banking. At the time, Lloyds said all workers at the affected branches would be offered jobs elsewhere in the company.
The outlets closing in May are:
Beccles – May 6
Fakenham – May 6
Matlock – May 7
Monmouth – May 8
New Milton – May 13
Morrisons
Earlier this year, Morrisons announced the closure of 17 of its Morrisons Daily convenience stores and 52 cafés across the UK. Alongside these closures, dozens of its Market Kitchens, florists, meat counters, fish counters and pharmacies were set to shut too.
The closures are part of an ongoing "renewal programme" of Morrisons' services, in which the brand is looking to reduce costs and boost growth. The Haxby Morrisons Daily branch in Yorkshire is closing for good on May 14.
Poundland
Two Poundland shops are pulling down the shutters for good in May. The discount retailer's Clapham Junction station in south London is closing on Friday, May 2 with the chain's branch in St George's Centre in Gravesend town centre, shutting on May 8.
Wetherspoons
The Spon Gate pub in Coventry will close on May 25. A spokesperson confirmed it was a commercial decision. However, punters should not be too disappointed as there are two other Wetherspoons pubs in the city.
Beales
Founded in Bournemouth in 1881, one of the UK's oldest department store names will vanish from the high street after its final branch closes in Poole's Dolphin Centre on May 14. Chief executive Tony Brown blamed the closure on increases in taxes and wages outlined in the budget, leaving the business "unviable".
Shoe Zone
Shoezone's Devonshire Road store will be closing for good on May 13. A Shoe Zone representative previously attributed the closure to a mix of soaring business rates, wage hikes and adverse weather conditions rendering some outlets "unviable".
The Entertainer
Toy chain The Entertainer is set to close one of its stores this weekend. The retailer is pulling down the shutters on its Barrow-in-Furness branch on May 3. The store in Barrow had taken over a former Argos unit in the town centre in 2017.
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