The UK high street will lose even more shops this month with a number of major brands set to close sites. It comes after the closures of shops from WHSmith, Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Homesense already this year.
Businesses have been hit with cost increases this month meaning many have been forced to review their stores and expansion plans. As well as energy costs and rent, many retailers will also be struggling with the rise in employer National Insurance contributions.
WHSmith, Beaverbrooks, Sports Direct, FarmFoods, Refill, and Aldi are among the brands closing stores in April. Here is the full list of shops that are set to shut.
WHSmith
The latest WHSmith closures come after stores in Basingstoke and Winton, Bournemouth, shut in March. The latest to close are:
- Halstead, Essex
- Halesowen, West Midlands
- Diss, Norfolk
- Newport, Wales
- Haverhill, Suffolk
- Woolwich, London
Beaverbrooks
The jewellery brand has confirmed the closure of three shops this month. Its Huddersfield branch will close on Saturday, while its stores in Croydon and Sutton Coldfield will shut on Sunday.
Managing Director Anna Blackburn said the decision was made following a business performance review. She added: “We aim to retain as many colleagues as possible within other Beaverbrooks stores or the wider business, and are working closely with each individual affected to provide them with options for their specific needs, supporting them with their next steps whatever they may be.”
Sports Direct
Sports Direct will shut its Newmarket Road store in Cambridge on April 18. It comes after a number of closures in recent years.
The Sports Direct store in the Central Six Retail Park in Coventry shut in January 2024. Meanwhile, branches in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, also shut down last year.
FarmFoods
The budget supermarket is closing its Dundee store on Sunday. FarmFoods bosses have made the decision not to renew their lease at the site.
The shop has previously closed stores in Banbury and Southend. It comes despite FarmFoods sales surpassing £1billion for the first time in 2023, the most recent accounts available for the supermarket show.
Refill
The environmentally friendly store in Chelmsford, Essex, will close its doors this month. No exact closure date has been given yet, but it said it would aim to close at the end of April once its stock has been sold.
Refill’s owners said they had struggled with financial difficulties and were unable to give the shop the “time and energy it deserves.” The store was saved from closure in January 2023 when its original owner stepped back.
A.G. Meek
A.G. Meek will close one of its stores after 60 years of business this month. The shoe store on Eastgate Street, in Gloucester, will shut on April 12.
It will leave the small retail chain with just four sites, all of which are in Wales. Owner David Meek said the Gloucester city centre store was shutting due to the hike in employer National Insurance contributions (NICs), a reduction in business rate relief and lower footfall.
Aldi
Aldi will close its shop on Swanfield Place, in Llanelli, Wales, on April 27. It has no plans to replace the store.
Labour councillor Shaun Greaney previously said: “People can ill-afford to lose this store. With rising energy prices, water bills, and a nearly 9% hike in council tax, this shop was a lifeline for those barely scraping by. I don’t know how people are going to manage now.”
MBAS Clothing
The independent clothes shop will close its store in Arnold, Nottinghamshire. Its footfall had reduced by 70% and therefore it couldn’t keep the business afloat.
A spokesperson said: “Despite huge efforts to entice the good people of Arnold and surrounding areas into the shop, we have not succeeded. Our footfall is as much as 70% down on previous years, and we have to face facts that the shop is not what people want.”
