Putting things plainly, it’s a bleak time for Britain’s high streets. Stores have been shutting up shop left, right and centre over the past few years. And now it appears that even more are joining Debenhams, Woolworths and Topshop in the graveyard of high street retailers.
It’s not all terrible news, though. Some companies are simply closing a bunch of their stores so that they can prioritise expansion elsewhere. We’ve got all the information you need to get an idea of what your local high street may look like in six months’ time.
The full list of Wilko stores closing in 2023
This week, Wilko announced that it had officially gone into administration, with all 400 stores and 12,000 jobs at risk.
So far, only 14 branches are confirmed to be shutting down, though many do not yet have official closing dates. Those are:
- Bournemouth
- Stockton
- The Fort, Birmingham
- Shipley
- Scunthorpe
- Narborough Road, Leicester
- Grantham
- Redditch
- Rotherham
- Skegness
- Llanelli
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Cleethorpes
- Woolwich
Find out more about all the Wilko store closures in the UK here.
The full list of Boots stores closing in 2023
A whopping 300 Boots stores could disappear by the end of the year. The health and beauty retailer hopes that reducing its number from 2,200 to 1,900 will help ‘consolidate the business’.
The Boots branches confirmed to be closing are:
- Front Street, Prudhoe – TBC
- Glastonbury – October 13
- Guildford Road, Woking – October
- Gorleston, Great Yarmouth – November
- Holywell, Flintshire – August 26
- Jardine Crescent, Coventry – TBC
- Upper Warrengate, Wakefield – October 7
- Windhill Road, Wakefield – October 6
Seven Boots have already closed. They are:
- Church Street, Malvern
- Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea
- Heathside Road, Woking
- King William Street, London
- The Port Arcades Shopping Centre, Ellesmere
- Salford Shopping Centre, Greater Manchester
- University of East Anglia Campus
Find out more about all the Boots store closures in the UK here.
The full list of Wetherspoons closing in 2023
This pub stalwart announced that it is putting dozens of its sites up for sale. Most of the closures are pubs that have other Wetherspoons nearby. According to CBRE group and Savills, which are covering the sale, these are the ‘Spoons ‘under offer’:
- Asparagus - Battersea
- General Sir Redvers Buller - Crediton
- Millers Well - East Ham
- The Bankers Draft - Eltham
- Hudson Bay - Forest Gate
- Capitol - Forest Hill
- The Saltoun Inn - Fraserburgh
- The Percy Shaw - Halifax
- Coronet - Holloway
- The Alfred Herring - Palmers Green
- The Cross Keys - Peebles
- Foxley Hatch - Purley
- World's Inn - Romford
- The Butlers Bell - Stafford
- Columbia Press - Watford
- The Widow Frost - Mansfield
- Wrong ‘Un - Bexleyheath
And apparently the Wetherspoons pubs which are currently still ‘available’ to be sold include:
- Christopher Creeke - Bournemouth
- Thomas Leaper - Derby
- Lord Arthur Lee - Fareham
- Plough & Harrow - Hammersmith
- Jolly Sailor - Hanham
- Resolution - Middlesbrough
- The Rising Sun - Redditch
- Sennockian - Sevenoaks
- Former Tusk Nightclub & Waverly Tea Rooms - Watford
- Soul Store - Kilburn
Find out more about all the Wetherspoons closures in the UK here.
The full list of Clintons stores closing in 2023
Clinton Cards (aka Clintons) is taking measures to avoid going into insolvency. A fifth of the retailer’s stores are set to be affected – that’s 38 out of 179 branches. However, the specific sites closing down haven’t been revealed yet.
Find out more about all the Clintons store closures in the UK here.
The full list of Iceland stores closing in 2023
Iceland has closed a bunch of its UK stores so far this year, including branches in Rhyl, Bristol, Harrow, Swansea and Newport.
The next Iceland to close is at the Bridge Centre in Portsmouth, which will shut its doors this Saturday, August 26.
A store in Llanelli town centre will close on September 2, whilst Iceland shops in central Crewe and Birkenhead will close on September 16.
Find out more about all the Iceland store closures in the UK here.
The full list of Marks and Spencers stores closing in 2023
In an effort to save £300 million, M&S announced earlier this year that they would be closing 67 of its stores and relocating ten.
A full list of the sites at risk hasn’t been revealed but some closures have already taken place. They include its Meadowbank Retail Park branch in Edinburgh, London’s Fenchurch Street site and stores in Castleford and Middleborough.
Among the stores relocating are those in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Thurrock.
Find out more about all the M&S store closures in the UK here.
The full list of The Works stores closing in 2023
Stationery, books and arts/crafts supplies shop The Works is closing and relocating stores this year. Three stores have closed so far (Parkway Shopping Centre in Coulby Newham, Baytree Garden Centre in Weston and the Hitchin store), whilst one has relocated in The Mander Shopping Centre in Wolverhampton.
Find out more about all the The Weeks store closures in the UK here.
The full list of Argos stores closing in 2023
Argos plans to close 100 UK sites in 2023 and 2024 as it focuses on expanding its presence in supermarkets instead of the high street.
Most of the sites closing haven’t been revealed yet but we do know that Grimsby and Scunthorpe will lose their standalone stores in August.
Did you see that the UK’s ‘strictest pub’ is closing?
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