Several well-known high street chains are closing locations in 2025, with WHSmith being the latest to announce closures.
Following a series of closures since 2023, WHSmith has announced that it will be closing 17 stores across the country between now and May. It will be closing 20 more stores annually over the next three years.
However, the chain also announced that it will be opening 90 more stores in different locations over the same period.
WH Smith isn’t the only high street store planning closures. Co-op has announced the closure of 19 food stores across England by the end of May 2025, citing that these locations had been ‘financially unsustainable for some time.’ However, the company has recently opened and refurbished new stores.
The clothing chain Monki is closing all seven of its UK stores. Owner H&M plans to merge the brand with sister company Weekday to create a single offering aimed at younger customers.
Brands such as Millets and Homebase are also closing multiple stores across the UK.
The changing UK high street
Big brands appear to be hit just as hard as small businesses on the UK high street over the last year. But unlike small businesses, who are struggling to balance dwindling footfall against increased costs, they have the ability to pivot their strategy and invest in new locations or branding opportunities.
At the end of 2024, the Centre for Retail Research reported 8,543 stores had closed for the final time by November. This number was even higher in 2023, with 10,500 UK shops closing. Over these two years, 250,000 retail jobs have been lost.
Simply Business research shows that 132,945 independent high street businesses are in danger of closing completely over the next 15 years.
The top endangered independent businesses on the high street
- Electrical appliance
- Shoe shops & leather goods
- Furniture & homeware shops
- Pubs and Bars
- Newsagents & Stationers
- Fishmongers
- Chemists
- Tech & PC shops
- Watch shops & jewellers
- Clothing stores
Higher costs for SMEs in 2025
2025 might see costs rise even further for small business owners.
The government has made steps to improve workers’ rights by proposing to remove zero-hour contracts and ban fire-and-rehire practices. This will impact small businesses who only need to employ extra staff on an ad-hoc basis. They also raised the National Living Wage ahead of the Autumn Budget, announcing that it will increase 6.7 per cent to £12.21 an hour in April 2025.
While beneficial for workers, many businesses will need to rethink hiring plans and review their workforce because of these changes.
Many will also see their business rates bill rise by thousands when business rates relief for hospitality, retail, and leisure businesses falls from 75 per cent to 40 per cent in April 2025. However, the government has promised to completely reform the business rates system in a bid to help small businesses.