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
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
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.