Here is what will shut before New Year and where.
As the year winds down, Morrisons is pressing ahead with a programme of closures that will reshape parts of its estate before 31 December 2025. The moves affect convenience stores, in-store cafés, fresh food counters and specialist services that many families rely on for quick meals, prescriptions and bouquets during the busy run-up to Christmas.
The grocer has confirmed 145 locations will be affected in 2025, including 17 Morrisons Daily stores and 52 cafés. Most of the convenience closures landed in spring, while further cafés, Market Kitchens, pharmacies and florists are still slated to shut with dates to be confirmed. And the map spans from Aberdeen to Portsmouth.
The 2025 Morrisons closures that shoppers will notice first
The convenience hits came first. On 16 April a wave of Morrisons Daily shops closed in towns and suburbs across Britain, from Gorleston and Poole to Tonbridge, Romsey and Selsdon in Greater London. Shoppers in Peebles, Stewarton and Great Barr also saw doors shut. One further Daily in Haxby, North Yorkshire, followed on 14 May.
Attention has since turned to cafés. A total of 52 stores are listed for café closures this year, with sites spanning every corner of the country. London shoppers will recognise Wood Green, Stratford, Harrow Hatch End, Queensbury and Erith. In Yorkshire, closures include Bradford Thornbury, Leeds Horsforth and Leeds Swinnow Road. Scotland features prominently too, with Banchory, Bellshill, Dumbarton, East Kilbride, Helensburgh, Largs, Paisley, Troon and Wishaw all on the list. Wales is represented by Brecon, Caernarfon and Connah’s Quay.
Dates for these café closures remain to be confirmed, which means some changes may drop close to the festive period. The majority of the Daily closures has already taken place, which is why many shoppers are only just feeling the café impact now.
- 17 Morrisons Daily stores closed in spring, mainly on 16 April, with Haxby on 14 May
- 52 cafés set to shut in 2025, dates still to be confirmed
- 18 Market Kitchens earmarked for closure across England and Scotland
- 4 in-store pharmacies listed for closure, with dates to follow
- 13 in-store florists to close, including sites in Aberdeen, Sheffield and St Albans
Where cafés, Market Kitchens and pharmacies are going next
Beyond cafés, the fresh-cooked offer is changing too. Eighteen Market Kitchens are set to close, including Aberdeen King Street, Camden Town, Canning Town, Leeds Kirkstall, Nottingham Netherfield, Stoke Festival Park, Milton Keynes Westcroft and North Shields. These counters have long provided ready-to-eat meals and hot dishes for shoppers who want dinner sorted without a wait. Soon, several of those spaces will look different.
Essential services feature on the list as well. Four in-store pharmacies are scheduled to close in Birmingham Small Heath, Blackburn Railway Road, Bradford Victoria and London Wood Green. Thirteen florists are due to shut too, from Sheffield Meadowhead and Sunderland Doxford Park to St Helens Boundary Road and Rubery. It is a significant shift for customers who pick up prescriptions and last-minute flowers during the weekly shop.
Some closures will bite harder locally than others. In commuter belts like Welwyn Garden City, Weybridge, Oxted and Reigate, café closures will thin out sit-down options near the store. In coastal towns such as Littlehampton and Gorleston, cafés often double as warm, affordable meeting spots on cold days. That is why people notice when they go dark.
What Morrisons says and what happens in store by December
In March, chief executive Rami Baitiéh set out the thinking behind the decisions. He said: « In most locations, the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option. Market Street is a beacon of differentiation for Morrisons and we remain committed to it. But as we modernise we are making some necessary changes to the areas of the model which are simply uneconomic. In some stores where we are closing counters or Cafés, we plan to work with third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer. Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues. We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes. »
That message points to two shifts shoppers should expect in late autumn and early winter. First, some closed café and counter spaces will be repurposed on the shop floor, freeing up room for new ranges or services. Second, certain stores may bring in specialist partners where a café or counter once stood, which could change the feel of the front-of-house area overnight.
Where dates are still to be set, stores usually post notices at entrances and till points ahead of time. In London, keep an eye on the café boards in Wood Green, Stratford and Erith. In the North and Midlands, watch for updates in Bradford, Leeds, Northampton Kettering Road and Solihull. It is often a short window between announcement and the last day of trading.
And yet, the grocer insists its core offer remains. Market Street counters continue where they make commercial sense, and many cafés are staying open. Still, anyone who plans a regular cuppa in High Wycombe, Welwyn Garden City or Watford may want to check opening hours before they go. It avoids a wasted trip in the damp, dark evenings.
