Major UK high street retailers and banking groups are shutting dozens of stores across the country this January, intensifying the long-running crisis facing Britain's town centres. River Island, Poundland, Primark, and Lloyds Banking Group have announced a combined total of over 70 closures throughout the month, following a year in which nearly 13,500 shops closed nationwide.
Fashion retailer River Island is closing at least 27 stores in January as part of a major restructuring involving 33 locations. The closures come after the company reported a pre-tax loss of £32.3 million and a 19% decline in sales. Specific January closures include stores in Aylesbury, Burton upon Trent, Oxford, and Wrexham, among others. Additional stores including Brighton and Edinburgh Princes Street closed in late 2025 as part of the same restructuring.
River Island CEO Ben Lewis cited "a large portfolio of stores no longer aligned to our customers' needs" as the driving factor. The company operates around 200 stores with over 5,000 employees, though no jobs face threat as the retailer aims to relocate affected staff.
UK shoppers expressed little surprise at the announcement, with some noting the brand's stores appeared "old and tired" and products "very overpriced for what it is."
Discount Retailers Hit Hard
Poundland is shutting 12 shops in January, following 57 closures by the end of last September. American investment firm Gordon Brothers acquired the discount retailer for £1 in 2025, and the company plans to close approximately 100 shops permanently by the end of 2026. Affected locations include stores in Bexhill, Liverpool, Yeovil, and Edinburgh's Cameron Toll, with clearance sales offering discounts up to 40%.
Poundland UK country manager Darren MacDonald told The Express: "We know how disappointing it is when we leave a store, but before we close our doors for a final time, we're determined to say goodbye by offering even more amazing value to customers."
Primark closed its Dartford store on January 3, marking the chain's first closure in over a decade. Philippa Nibbs, Primark's director of sales for UK South and South East, told The Sun: "This difficult decision was informed by the extensive repair work required to the building, which given the close proximity to two other Primark stores, is just not viable."
Banking Branches Follow
Lloyds Banking Group is closing 34 branches in January across its Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland brands. The closures comprise 17 Lloyds branches, eight Halifax sites, and nine Bank of Scotland branches. The banking group previously attributed such reductions to increased online banking usage.
Broader High Street Crisis
The January closures reflect a wider retail emergency. Approximately 13,500 shops closed in 2024, a 28% increase from 2023, with thousands more expected to shut in 2025. Last year, 54 retailers went bust, losing 3,080 stores and 30,153 employees, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
The crisis has become a major political issue ahead of the next election, with Reform UK campaigning on what it calls a "high street emergency" for over a year.
The government's "Pride in Place" programme is attempting to address the decline through local regeneration funding, with some of the most deprived areas receiving £20 million each.
Note: Artificial Intelligence (AI) created this article.
