High street giant to shut UK store in DAYS after closing 11 as huge shake-up announced
New Look shoppers were devastated to learn their local branch will be pulling the shutters down.
1
The ill-fated site, located within the Howard Centre, in Welwyn Garden City, is set to wave goodbye imminently.
Reacting to the news, one fan wrote: "The Town Centre is now a ghost town."
"Feel for those losing their jobs," penned another.
"I'm surprised it's lasted this long since everything else has shut down……. what will become of the town?" Agreed a third.
This comes after New Look shoppers were warned of a further 12 closures as the retailer "could be auctioned off".
In another blow to the high street, the company will shutter a handful of sites across the UK this year.
The firm previously warned it would close nearly 100 stores ahead of National Insurance hikes which came into place in April.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer's 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
The brand already closed a site in Birmingham on June 8 and another store in Devizes, Wiltshire closed last month.
The brand has already closed down eight stores across the UK since the start of the year, launching huge closing down sales to hep shift stock.
Costa Coffee Shuts Whitstable Branch: What Shop Closures Mean for UK High Streets
That includes a branch in Bexleyheath, which launched a 70% clearance sale before it closed for good on April 19.
It's Gateshead, Tyne and Wear closed o n March 9 with items being sold just £1 before it shut for good.
You can check out the full list of New Look closures here:
New Look, Neath, Wales – closing August 6
New Look, Hamilton, Scotland – closed July 1
New Look, Birmingham, Northfield shopping centre – closed June 8
New Look, Willow Place, Corby – closed June 1
New Look Bexleyheath, London, closed April 19
New Look, Preston, closed March 20
New Look, Valley Retail World in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear – closed March 9
St Austell branch in Cornwall – closed March 4
New Look, Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales – closed February 22
New Look, Wickford, Essex – closed January 24
New Look, Carillon Court Shopping Centre Loughborough, closed January 21.
New Look, Devizes, Wiltshire – closed
In February, New Look also exited the Republic of Ireland which resulted in the closure of 26 stores.
At the time, the company said: "New Look's Irish operation has struggled for some years, impacted by a range of factors including supply-chain and in-market costs, and squeezed consumer spending".
It follows reports the high street stalwart had hired investment bankers to explore a strategic review of the business.
According to Sky News, owners Alcentra and Brait, are talking to advisers in a move which could trigger an auction of the business.
It means nothing will change for customers during this process and it's important to note that the company is not going bust.
A New Look spokesperson said: 'We do not comment on rumour and speculation.
"Management are focused on running the company and executing the strategy for long-term growth. "
"The company is trading well and has supportive shareholders'.
In April, it was reported the investors were pouring £30million of fresh equity into the business to help move it online.
Last year, the retailer reported sales of £769million.
In 2023, New Look underwent a £100m refinancing deal with Blazehill Capital and Wells Fargo.
MORE RETAIL TROUBLE
New Look is not the only retailer to feel the pain of rising rents and customers have less money to spend at the till.
River Island will close 33 of its 230 stores, pending approval.
The shops earmarked for closure will stay open until January 2026 to make the most of peak trading.
The closures come as River Island carries out a major restructuring of its store estate.
Elsewhere, Claire's is mulling a sale of the business leaving question marks over the future of nearly 300 stores in the UK.
Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop are also shutting branches as part of restructuring efforts.
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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why millions of people could benefit from self-driving vehicles in the UK
A government minister has detailed the benefits of self-driving vehicles as a public consultation launches ahead of its roll-out in the UK next year. Launched today (July 21), the consultation on the automated passenger services (APS) permitting scheme will allow 'representative groups, industry stakeholders, trade unions and members of the public' to voice their opinions on how self-driving vehicles could be used. It comes ahead of the proposed roll-out of taxi-, private-hire- and bus-like services with self-driving technology from spring 2026, prior to the implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act in 2027. Lilian Greenwood, future of roads minister, said: 'Self-driving vehicles are one of the most exciting opportunities to improve transport for so many people, especially those in rural areas or unable to drive. We want to work with passengers and industry to make this new form of transport safe and accessible, as we take our next steps towards adoption. 'This technology doesn't just have the potential to improve transport for millions of people. It will help stimulate innovation, create thousands of jobs, and drive investment to put more money in people's pockets – all part of delivering our Plan for Change.' It follows on from a Government decision to 'fast-track' pilots of self-driving passenger vehicles to spring 2026, which would allow companies to pilot 'small-scale' services conducted without a safety driver monitoring the vehicle for the first time. Users would be able to book the service via an app, similar to a typical taxi or ride-hailing service. Key pointers for the consultation include how self-driving cars could be made more accessible for disabled and older people, and how 'services of self-driving vehicles are approved by councils'. The new consultation will run until September 28, 2025. When speaking on the roll-out of Self-driving taxis and bus-like services, transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'The future of transport is arriving. 'Self-driving cars could bring jobs, investment, and the opportunity for the UK to be among the world-leaders in new technology. 'With road safety at the heart of our pilots and legislation, we continue to take bold steps to create jobs, back British industry and drive innovation.'
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Pensions aren't working – Labour is right to grasp the nettle
Put simply, unless we act, tomorrow's pensioners will be poorer than today's, because people who are saving aren't saving enough for their retirement. And crucially, because almost half of the working-age population isn't saving anything for their retirement at all.' It's fair to say that the secretary of state for work and pensions, Liz Kendall, has had a challenging time of it since she took her first ministerial job a little more than a year ago. But that doesn't mean that everything she says is wrong – or that every initiative she takes should be doomed. On pensions, she seems determined to make sure she's not forced by the Treasury into another precipitate and politically disastrous move before first winning the arguments on reform, not least within her own party. State and private pensions are ripe for further restructuring, as is the wider social security system, and the country cannot afford another debacle on the scale of the recent welfare reform bill. Neither can Ms Kendall, or her impatient colleague, the chancellor. Fortunately for the government, much of the background work was completed some years ago, and the machinery to reshape policy is available 'off the shelf'. The Pensions Commission, which last reported in 2006, was a rare success in that many of its recommendations were actually implemented and proved to be highly successful. Now, for example, some 88 per cent of workers are auto-enrolled into a private pension, with at least 3 per cent of their salary paid by their employer into an approved scheme. The result is a widespread, but still inadequate, building-up of private pension provision. Not enough is being put aside for old age and infirmity, particularly by younger workers – who, tragically, have the most time on their side to make their savings grow – and the self-employed. The UK, post-Brexit and in a more unstable world, is hampered by low investment, sluggish productivity growth, an expensive national debt, and a seemingly intractable cost-of-living crisis. As Ms Kendall points out, the triple lock – which guarantees that the state pension rises in line with inflation, or wage increases, or by 2.5 per cent, whichever is the greatest – costs some £31bn a year; even if this figure stabilises as inflation subsides, an ageing population, living longer but in poorer health, will push the overall cost of state retirement age benefits well beyond the current figure of about £140bn a year, or 5 per cent of GDP. Given that these benefits constitute by far the largest component of the total social security bill, welfare reform is impossible without some way of putting them on a more sustainable footing. To the dismay of some, Ms Kendall has taken one immediate step in that direction by bringing forward the next statutory review of the state retirement age, which has already been raised by successive governments. While natural justice and practicalities will protect many who are now in their sixties, for those currently in their forties and fifties, facing further postponements in their state pension eligibility is akin to chasing the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (and it's not that golden, either). It is true that life expectancy nowadays is far higher than when the Liberal chancellor David Lloyd George established the state pension in 1908 – it now stands at 82 years, against 52 in the Edwardian era – but no one can make sensible provision for their retirement if their state entitlement keeps disappearing over the horizon. If it is to be raised – perhaps to 70 or so – to take account of (sometimes expensive) advances in healthcare and a changing society, then it should be kept there permanently. There is, therefore, much for Ms Kendall and the Pensions Commission to do – especially in making the country, and particularly the parliamentary Labour Party, face up to those 'tough choices' that politicians themselves so often talk about but ultimately duck. Policy must be evidence based, and thus persuasive, and the commission will help with that. One thing that would be highly perverse in this context would be for the chancellor to attack savings, and tax pension pots, in her next Budget. Rachel Reeves herself has spoken of the imperative to increase investment by pension funds in productive infrastructure schemes. It would hardly be sensible, then, to start taxing them even more heavily, or to force them into unsuitable or risky pet infrastructure projects that will leave pensioners shortchanged. The updated strategy for pensions, both state and private, will also need to be meshed with whatever reforms to the way we pay for social care eventually emerge from the Casey Review, commissioned by Wes Streeting. Younger folk have more than enough to deal with today, and find saving difficult. Yet one distant day, when they are too old or sick to work – unlikely as it may seem now – they might be grateful that Ms Kendall, otherwise long forgotten, put provisions in place to make their lives a little easier.
Auto Express
14 minutes ago
- Auto Express
More Chinese EV price cuts as MG responds to EV grant confusion
The Government's announcement that buyers of pure-electric cars priced under £37,000 could receive a grant worth up to £3,750 has been met with plenty of confusion. To help clear things up and entice buyers even more, MG has announced it will give all private buyers of the MG4 and MGS5 EV its own £1,500 'grant'. That's in addition to whatever comes from the official Electric Car Grant. Advertisement - Article continues below David Allison, Head of Product and Planning for MG Motor UK, told Auto Express that customers had been 'put off' by the grant thanks to a lack of clarity over which cars meet the eligibility criteria and if a car's price tag would be lowered to dip under the £37,000 grant ceiling in the near future. MG is yet to find out if its Chinese-built MG4 and MGS5 EV will be able to meet the sustainability criteria to qualify for the UK Government's grant - whether that's the maximum £3,750 or the second tier £1,500 figure. However, MG has said it is still in the 'process of securing any of the Government-backed support which has been made available'. As a reminder, the MG4 sits under the £37,000 grant cut-off for the Electric Car Grant, coming in at £26,995 in SE specification and topping out at £36,495 in Trophy Extended Range form. The MGS5 EV in SE trim is priced from £28,495 and goes up to £33,495 for the Trophy Long Range. Guy Pigounakis, Commercial Director for MG Motor UK said, 'MG has been a key contributor to the EV sector. Today's announcement underlines this commitment and in addition to this, we will also seek to work constructively with the Government to further increase the sale of EVs.' MG also said the Cyberster roadster (which starts from £54,995) would not be a part of its £1,500 discount scheme and neither would the incoming IM5 and IM6 models. Since 2019 MG has been the fifth most popular EV brand with car buyers in the UK. A total of 95,000 MG electric cars have found homes. MG is not the first brand to preemptively offer its own electric car 'grant' in the wake of the official Government announcement. Leapmotor and Ora are taking similar measures to circumvent any confusion buyers might be feeling around the cars that will or will not qualify for the scheme. Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express ? We'll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too .
