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Are we witnessing the death of the British high street? Well, it’s certainly seen better days. Last year Britain witnessed a huge number of big chains closing locations, but there were surprisingly few that we lost altogether. Clothing brand Monki was one of the only ones to disappear completely, along with the likes of Sainsburys cafés and Bodycare.
Retailers have been sounding the alarms for some time now. Costs are rising, consumers’ budgets are shrinking and shopping habits are moving online, meaning that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a profit on the high street. Some bosses, such as the CEO of Shoezone, have also said that government tax hikes are cutting into already tight margins.
Several British high-street staples have already confirmed closures for 2026. Here are the ones that have so far announced that locations will be shutting.
All the UK high street closures in 2026
TGI Friday’s
The UK arm of TGIs went into administration in 2024, but was bought out by Sugarloaf TGIF Operations Limited in January 2026. That has resulted in 16 UK diners being forced to close their doors without notice, in what the brand said was ‘the best outcome for the business’ in order to prevent future job losses or bankruptcy. There are now just 33 TGI Fridays left in Britain.
Here are all the TGI Friday’s restaurants that closed with immediate effect on January 13:
- Ashton Under Lyne, Greater Manchester
- Doncaster, South Yorkshire
- Staines, Surrey
- Stevenage, Hertfordshire
- Walsall, West Midlands
- Bournemouth, Dorset
- Telford, Shropshire
- Reading, Berkshire
- Coventry, Warwickshire
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Crawley, West Sussex
- Aberdeen Beach, Scotland
- Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
- Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Stratford, Greater London
- Braintree, Essex
Find out more (including which restaurants are staying open) here.
River Island
Twenty seven River Island stores were slated to close across January 2026. The clothing brand described the decision to shutter just over 10 percent of its shops as part of a ‘clear transformation strategy to ensure the long-term viability of the business’.
Here is the full list of River Islands closing this year, and when:
January 18:
- Aylesbury
- Burton upon Trent
- Leeds Birstall Park
- Lisburn
- Perth
- Surrey Quays
- Sutton Coldfield
- Taunton
- Wrexham
January 24:
- Bangor Bloomfield
- Cumbernauld
- Hartlepool
- Kilmarnock
- Northwich
- St Helens
January 31:
- Barnstaple
- Beckton
- Didcot
- Falkirk
- Gloucester
- Grimsby
- Hanley
- Hereford
- Kirkcaldy
- Oxford
- Poole
- Rochdale
Find out more about River Island closures here.
Claire’s Accessories
Accessory store Claire’s finally went into administration at the very end of 2025, and its stores remain under threat of closure in 2026.
Claire’s was acquired by Modella Capital, an investment company which also owns Hobbycraft and WH Smith (now TGJones on the high street), in September 2025 – but despite its best efforts the chain just couldn’t make a comeback. Administrators are now looking for a buyer, but if one isn’t found all 150 Claire’s stores could be forced to shut.
Find out more about Claire’s closures here.
The Original Factory Shop
Discount chain the Original Factory Shop was also acquired by Modella Capital in 2025, but similarly just couldn’t make its way back to profitability. TOFS’s 140 branches across the UK are now in limbo as they wait to discover whether a buyer will come and save the day.
Cancer Research UK
Charity shops often take over unused high-street units, but Cancer Research UK is about to vacate more locations after announcing plans to close 88 branches across Britain by May. The charity hopes that this will save it nearly £12.4 million by 2030, and says that although it plans to keep the remaining 320 shops open, further downsizing could be an option next year if necessary.
Here’s the full list of Cancer Research UK stores closing down this year:
- Aberdeen, 19 Rosemount Viaduct
- Airdrie, 5 Bank Street
- Balham, 168 Balham High Road
- Ballymena, 49 Ballymoney Street
- Banbury, 9 Parsons Street
- Barnstaple, Gammon Walk
- Belfast, Bloomfield 17 Bloomfield Avenue
- Biggleswade, 24 High Street
- Birkenhead, Borough Pavement
- Birmingham, 245 High Street, Erdington
- Bognor, 1-2 Clock Walk
- Bolton, 6 Newport Street
- Bradford, 34-36 Ivegate
- Burton, On Trent 25 Station St
- Chesham, 34 High Street
- Clevedon, 1 Station Road
- Clydebank, 23 Sylvania Way South
- Coatbridge, 20-22 Main Street
- Cotteridge, 20 Watford Road, Birmingham
- Crewe, 10 Market Street
- Derby, 826 Osmaston Road, Allenton
- Dewsbury, 22 Longcauseway
- Dudley, 258 Castle Street
- East Barnet, 276 East Barnet Road
- Edinburgh, 9-10 Ormiston Terrace, Corstorphine
- Epping, 197 High Street
- Fakenham, 26 Market Place
- Falkirk, 18 Vicar Street
- Galashiels, 55 High Street
- Gillingham, 90 High Street
- Glasgow, 420-424 Victoria Road
- Gosport, 98 High Street
- Gravesend, 34 New Road
- Halesowen, 79 High Street
- Harrogate, 24A Oxford Street
- Hazel Grove, 129B-C London Road, Stockport
- Hemel Hempstead, 101 Marlowes
- High Wycombe, 8 Church Street
- Hornchurch, 8 Station Lane
- Keswick, 24 Main Street
- Kings Lynn, 61 High Street
- Lancaster, 54-54A Market Street
- Leeds, 28 L&S Lane
- Lincoln, 254 High Street
- Lisburn, 4 Smithfield Square
- Louth, 20 Market Place
- Ludlow, 3 Castle Street
- Maidenhead, 101 High Street
- Maidstone, 19 Gabriels Hill
- Market Drayton, 27 High Street
- Melton Mowbray, 6 South Parade
- Merthyr, Tydfil 14 Graham Way
- Mill Hill, 37 The Broadway
- Moreton, 242 Hoylake Road
- Newark, 26 Stodman Street
- Newcastle, Under Lyme 19 Ironmarket
- Northwood, 38 Green Lane
- Paddock Wood, 5 Commercial Road
- Penrith, 10 Angel Lane
- Perth, 27 Scott Street
- Redditch, 4 Market Place
- Redruth, 71 Fore Street
- Retford, 25 Carolgate
- Ross On Wye, 11 Market Place
- Rotherham, 74 Effingham Street
- Rushden, 22 High Street
- Selby, 40A Gowthorpe
- Sevenoaks, 137 High Street
- Shrewsbury, 9 High Street
- Sidmouth, 19 Fore Street
- Skipton, 91 Caroline Square
- Slough, 8 Park Street
- Southend On Sea, 5 Warrior House, Southchurch Road
- St Ives, 6 High Street
- Stalybridge, 44A Grosvenor Road
- Stockport, 26 Princes Street
- Stoke, 44 Devonport Road, Plymouth
- Swansea, 19 Union Street
- Swindon, 28 Havelock Street
- Tiverton, 15 Bampton Street
- Urmston, 16 Station Road
- Welling, 26C Bellegrove Road
- Welwyn Garden City, 20 Howardsgate
- West Bromwich, 203 High Street
- Whitby, 70 Baxtergate
- Wick, 36 Bridge Street
- Wigston, 6 Bell Street
- Workington, 26-32 Murray Road
No specific closing dates have been provided yet. We’ll update this page when we know more.
Poundland
Last June, the budget chain Poundland was sold, in a poetic twist of fate, for £1. Since then its new owners have been restructuring to balance the books, and are still in the midst of shutting down the locations that were underperforming.
Several closed last year, but here’s all the Poundlands that we’ll be saying goodbye to in 2026, and when:
- Bexhill, East Sussex: January 5
- Ponders End, Greater London: January 5
- Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland: January 5
- Faversham, Kent: January 6
- Mitcham, Greater London: January 14
- Liverpool, Merseyside: January 15
- Yeovil, Somerset: January 16
- Cameron Toll, Edinburgh, Scotland: January 20
- Nottingham Eastpoint, Nottinghamshire: January 22
- Lymington, Hampshire: January 23
- Christchurch (47 High Street), Dorset: January 23
- Bristol Avon Meads, Bristol: January 29
- Winton, Dorset: February 6
- Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland: February 8
Find out more about Poundland closures here.
Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland)
A lot of high-street banks are moving to an online-first model, which means closing up in-person branches in favour of much larger – but much more sparsely located – banking hubs. Lloyds Group is continuing that strategy in 2026 and will shut 136 locations by March.
Lloyds Bank closures
- Alfreton: January 1
- Havant: January 1
- New Addington: January 1
- Mitcham: January 8
- Totnes: January 8
- Ammanford: January 12
- Bideford: January 13
- Fleet: January 13
- Chester-le-Street: January 14
- Ivybridge: January 14
- Lewes: January 19
- Swadlincote: January 20
- Hedge End: January 21
- Penzance: January 21
- Petersfield: January 21
- Hedon: January 28
Halifax bank closures
- Havant: January 1
- Seaford: January 1
- Middleton: January 8
- Yeovil: January 12
- Wandsworth, London: January 15
- Deal: January 22
- Hastings: January 22
- Skipton: January 26
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