Here is what is closing in 2025 and the places at risk.
The run up to Christmas usually means busy town centres and last minute dashes for gifts. This year, shoppers face a very different map with fresh closures across the UK high street from supermarkets to fashion and banks.
After Halloween and Bonfire Night, the festive rush often starts early. And yet some familiar names have already gone dark or trimmed services, with more to follow through winter. The pattern looks set to continue.
Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Morrisons hit hard with closures that change everyday routines
Sainsbury’s will shut its remaining 61 in store cafés in 2025 as part of a plan to save the group £1 billion over three years. The move follows an earlier wave that removed 200 cafés and will mean the loss of more than 3,000 jobs. Locations span England and Wales with sites from Fosse Park in Leicestershire to Wrexham and Exeter affected.
Iceland pared back its estate earlier in the year with closures in Margate, Borehamwood and Exeter, plus two Inverness sites and Shotton. Customers in those areas now rely on nearby branches or online delivery, which adds friction to quick top up trips.
Morrisons has taken a broad approach in 2025 by shutting some Daily convenience stores and many cafés, while also pulling back on Market Kitchens, meat and fish counters, florists and pharmacies. That means everyday services disappearing in places like Shenfield, Tonbridge and Poole for convenience stores, Bradford and Paisley for cafés, Aberdeen and Camden Town for Market Kitchens, and Birmingham Small Heath and London Wood Green for pharmacies. It is a patchwork of closures that hits food to go, fresh service counters and add on health needs in one go.
- At a glance Sainsbury’s will close 61 cafés in 2025, Iceland has shut multiple supermarkets, and Morrisons has reduced convenience stores, cafés, Market Kitchens, florists and pharmacies across the country
Fashion, home and banks join the retreat with more lists landing each month
Fashion and beauty have felt the strain too. Bodycare closed all remaining shops in September after entering administration, with 444 jobs lost. New Look confirmed plans to shut dozens of stores by the end of 2025 and is winding down operations in Ireland with 26 closures and nearly 350 roles made redundant. UK closures already include Loughborough’s Carillon Court, Wickford, Porth, St Austell, Gateshead and parts of Birmingham.
Discount and variety chains are shifting as well. Poundland secured court approval for a major restructuring that has already led to dozens of closures from Blackburn to Tunbridge Wells and Whitechapel. Co op closures total 19 branches this year while 22 Southern Co op stores were sold, with some expected to reopen under B and M.
Home and hobby retailers have reshaped their networks. Homebase entered administration at the end of last year and while a deal saved 70 stores, many others closed in 2025 across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Hobbycraft shut multiple sites in August and September, including Basildon, Canterbury and Stratford upon Avon. Quiz exited 23 UK and Ireland locations with around 200 jobs affected. The Entertainer closed selected toy stores, Monki began worldwide exits that include several UK cities, and Millets closed six stores, with four rebranding as Go Outdoors.
Banks are moving services online quicker than people would like. Santander is closing 95 branches in 2025, with closures rolling from June and touching towns such as Falmouth, Felixstowe, Torquay and Whitley Bay. NatWest Group cut 53 branches between April and June, then a further 55 and three mobile vans from September, spanning places from Accrington to Sudbury. Lloyds Banking Group plans 136 closures up to March 2026 across Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, affecting communities from Biggleswade and Godalming to Helensburgh and Peebles. For many, that means longer trips or digital by default, which not everyone wants.
Why more closures are coming and what that means for your Christmas shopping
Retail data paints a clear picture. The British Retail Consortium warned that as many as 400 of the UK’s largest shops sit at risk if they move into a proposed higher business rates tax band. The trade body says rising employment costs, taxes and rates have already driven 1,000 closures over five years. If all 400 at risk stores went, up to 100,000 jobs could disappear and councils would lose well over £100 million a year in retail rates receipts.
That pressure explains why supermarkets slim down cafés and counters to focus on faster, lower cost formats. It also shows why fashion and homeware chains rethink leases that no longer stack up. And why bank branch closures arrive in waves as more customers use apps for everyday tasks.
So what does that mean for the run up to Christmas. Start earlier if you rely on a particular local store or in person service. Some Iceland shoppers in Margate and Inverness already had to switch routines. Sainsbury’s regulars at Hazel Grove or Chelmsford who like a sit down coffee may need a new pit stop. Morrisons customers from Leeds to Paisley who bought hot meals at Market Kitchens will notice the gap.
There is still choice on the high street with click and collect smoothing the path between online and in store. Yet shopers will ofeten find a favourite branch gone or a service removed. If you need a bank counter or prefer a pharmacy inside the supermarket, check opening times before you head out. It saves a wasted trip in the cold.
All told, 2025 is a year of consolidation rather than expansion. The closures above stretch from supermarkets and fashion to home improvement and toys, with banks following the same path. For gift buying and winter top ups, having a plan B close to home makes the season feel a little less bumpy.
