High street store closures have become a familiar business in the UK and 2025 has been no exception, with a raft of major retailers shutting their doors for good this year.
Over the years we've bid goodbye to huge department stores like Debenhams, House of Fraser and BHS, while more recently brands like New Look, Claire's and Poundland have also been forced to close stores to save costs. The closures came amid a backdrop of pressure on consumer finances, rising inflation and increased costs for businesses, forcing many brands to launch restructures or enter administration. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned earlier this year that as many as 400 of the UK's largest shops are at risk of closure if the government forces them into its proposed higher business rates tax band.
The BRC said "like all of retail", stores were already under pressure from soaring employment costs, high taxes, and rising rates bills, driving the closure of 1,000 such outlets over the last five years. So if you can't keep track of all the closures that have taken place this year, here's a run-down of 25 major high street stores that have shut up shop in 2025.
Poundland
Poundland launched a major restructuring plan this year which involved the initial closure of 57 stores, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk.
The company, which has been bought by investment firm Gordon Brothers, has since announced further closures and is set to have shut more than 100 sites by the start of 2026, as part of efforts to cut its estate from around 800 sites to between 650 and 700 shops.
WH SmithWH Smith disappeared from the high street after the group sold off all its UK high street retail shops to private equity company Modella Capital to focus on its travel locations, where it will still operate under the brand. Modella then revealed plans to rebrand the chain as TGJones and pushed forward with the closure of 20 stores.
Claire'sThe UK arm of fashion accessories business Claire's tumbled into administration this year after its US owner entered bankruptcy. Modella Capital then struck a deal to save 156 stores, but 145 shops, employing around 1,000 workers, weren't part of the deal and closed as a result.
BodycareBeauty chain Bodycare shut all of its remaining shops in September after falling into administration and failing to secure a buyer, with the final round of closures resulting in 444 job losses. The brand has now gone from the UK high street for good, with around 150 stores closed in total.
Quiz ClothingFashion retailer Quiz collapsed into administration in February and closed 23 stores in the UK and Ireland, affecting around 200 jobs. The shops closed despite being bought in a pre-pack administration deal by a subsidiary of the founding Ramzan family.
Select FashionSelect Fashion stopped trading in 2025 after facing pressure from growing losses, forcing it to close around 80 stores. The brand entered liquidation after failing to find a buyer.
HomebaseGarden and DIY retailer Homebase closed 65 stores between January and March after falling into administration in late 2024. The brand was bought by retail group CDS, run by The Range owner Chris Dawson, but it was unable to save all its stores.
The Range owner managed to save 70 stores, while some Homebase sites were snapped up by B&Q and Wickes.
New LookFashion chain New Look shut 15 of its stores in the UK in 2025 due to economic struggles and the group also revealed it would be winding down its operations in the Republic of Ireland, closing 26 stores and making nearly 350 jobs redundant.
MonkiThe high street retailer owned by H&M only arrived on the UK's streets in 2012 but it is now undergoing worldwide closures, including in the UK.
At the start of the year, H&M announced plans to close its seven stores under its Monki brand and said a "limited number" of these would be transformed into its sister brand Weekday but still closed a number of shops permanently.
River IslandRiver Island shut 33 shops in 2025 as part of a restructuring to help support its future amid fears that the company could collapse into administration without action. It also secured rent reductions on 71 other stores as part of the plan.
HobbycraftThe arts and craft retailer revealed plans to shut nine of its stores earlier this year, in a move it said would hit up to 126 workers. The closures come after Modella Capital bought the retail business in 2024.
The EntertainerToy brand The Entertainer closed several of its stores this year due to non-viable lease agreements and changing shopping patterns, with the closures including Cameron Toll shopping centre in Edinburgh, Luton Point in Luton, Mercury Shopping Centre in Romford and The Moor in Sheffield.
Co-opA total of 19 Co-OP branches closed this year due to financial instability, while 22 Southern Co-Op stores were sold, with some to be reopened as B&M.
Morrisons shut a swathe of its Daily convenience stores and Cafes in 2025, alongside its Market Kitchens, meat and fish counters, florists and pharmacies.
Marks and SpencerMarks and Spencer announced plans to launch new food halls across the UK in 2025, but in September it permanently closed its major city centre store on Dudley Street in Wolverhampton as part of plans to cut the number of shops selling food, clothing and homeware to focus on food-only shops.
IcelandIceland closed six supermarkets earlier this year which included Margate, College Square, Inverness, Rose Street, Shotton, Chester Road store, Inverness, City Centre store, Shenley Road, Borehamwood and Alphington Road Retail Park, Exeter.
Sainsbury'sSainsbury's shut its remaining 61 in-store cafes in 2025 as part of a major overhaul to save the supermarket group £1 billion over three years.
The closures came almost three years after it closed 200 in-store cafes, with the latest round in 2025 resulting in the loss of more than 3,000 jobs.
MilletsOutdoor retailer Millets closed six stores in 2025, four of which have been rebranded as its sister company Go Outdoors.
StarbucksIn September, Starbucks launched an overhaul which resulted in the closure of some of its UK coffee shops. The group didn't disclose exactly how many sites would shut but closed 10 locations in October as part of the process.
GustoItalian restaurant chain Gusto announced plans to close six of its restaurants as part of an administration deal, resulting in around 190 job losses. Its remaining seven restaurants are still open.
LeonLeon is closing around 20 of its restaurants after launching a major restructuring in December. The company is shutting the worst-performing of its 71 stores, with the closures coming after the group was bought back by co-founder John Vincent from supermarket group Asda.
Pizza HutPizza Hut confirmed in October that 68 of its UK restaurants would close after the business running its franchise in the country entered administration. It also shut 11 delivery sites as part of a restructuring which put 1,210 workers at risk of redundancy.
SantanderSantander closed 95 of its UK branches this year as a result of more customers moving to digital banking. The closures began in June 2025, affecting around 750 jobs.
NatWestNatWest Group closed a swathe of its branches this year, shutting 53 locations between April and June, followed by an additional 55 branches and three mobile vans from September.
Lloyds Banking GroupLloyds Banking Group, which includes Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, is closing 136 branches across the UK up to March 2026.
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