Shops on the British high street are at risk in January 2026, with some popular chains closing a number of branches.
Poundland is one of several struggling shops as its new owners are carrying out a major restructure, which includes shutting down 30 of the discount retailer’s stores.
Another high street chain whose restructuring plan will cause store closures this month is River Island.
Primark has also recently shocked shoppers with the news that it would be closing a branch for the first time in the last decade.
Metro has compiled the closures set for January 2026 for you to check if your local shop is affected.
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Which branches of TGI Fridays have closed?
Restaurant chain TGI Fridays immediately shut 16 restaurants for good this week after the group fell into administration.
The iconic US food restaurant – which has been open in the UK since 1987 – said it will keep most of its locations open after a rescue deal was secured.
But 16 sites have closed, meaning 456 people have been made redundant from the group.
The 16 TGI Fridays restaurants that have shut down since the group fell intro administration are:
- 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
Which Poundland shops will be closing in January 2026?
Poundland was sold by its former parent company Pepco Group to Gordon Brothers last year in order to save it from administration.
But this has led to a restructure involving the closures of many of its stores across the UK.
The full list of Poundland stores set to close is:
- Lancaster, Lancashire
- Northampton Sixfields, Northamptonshire
- Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
- Hammersmith, Greater London
- Prestatyn, Denbighshire
- Faversham, Kent
- Liverpool, Merseyside
- Yeovil, Somerset
- Nottingham Eastpoint, Nottinghamshire
- Lymington, Hampshire
- Christchurch (47 High Street), Dorset
- Dorchester
- Bristol Avon Meads, Bristol
- Winton, Dorset
- Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
- Christchurch (Meteor Retail Park), Dorset
- Arnold, Nottinghamshire
- Plymstock
- Worthing, West Sussex
- Droitwich, Worcestershire
- Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
- Oldham, Greater Manchester
- Weston Favell, Northamptonshire
- Portishead, Somerset
- Grantham, Lincolnshire
- Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
- Farnham, Surrey
- Bearwood Smethwick
- Brighton, East Sussex
- Hempstead Valley, Kent
- Bexhill, East Sussex
- Gosport
- Ponders End, Greater London
- Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland
- Mitcham, Greater London
- Cameron Toll, Edinburgh, Scotland
Further closures have been announced this week for February 2026:
- Chichester
- Feltham
- Crayford
- Nottingham (Chilwell)
- Urmston
Many of the brand’s stores have already shut their doors:
- Twickenham – October 5
- Westhoughton – October 5
- Market Harborough – October 9
- Lowestoft – October 10
- Colne – October 11
- Rochdale – October 13
- Leicester – October 17
- Tenby – October 18
- Blackpool (Cherry Tree Retail Park) – October 25
- Deal – October 27
- Thurrock – October 27
- Walsall – October 29
- Hailsham – November 2
- Perry Barr – November 2
- Matlock – November 2
- Carlisle – November 9
- Burnley – November 9
- Witham – November 12
- Sidcup – November 14
- Dalston – November 24
- Beeston – November 27
- Launceston – November 29
- Melton Mowbray – December 4
- Droitwich – December 9
- Hempstead Valley – December 31
Are any Primark shops shutting?
International fashion retailer Primark surprised customers with the news that one of its shops would be closing in January 2026 – the brand’s first closure in a decade.
Primark’s site at The Orchards Shopping Centre in Dartford closed its doors with the last day of trading being Saturday, January 3.
A local Facebook page shared a picture of a poster in store announcing this, alongside text saying: ‘Our signs are up, the rumours are true Primark Dartford is closing down, our last day will be Saturday 3rd January.
‘Thank you so much all for supporting us and all the cards and chocolates we’ve received recently with condolences.’
Philippa Nibbs, the director of sales for UK South and South East at Primark, told The Sun that the closure was due to ‘the significant and extensive repair work the building requires’.
‘We know this will be disappointing news for our customers and the wider Dartford community too, and we are very grateful for their support over the years,’ she added
Local customers can find other Primark stores nearby in Bexleyheath and Bluewater Shopping Centre.
Kent also saw a new branch open in Tunbridge Wells last month. Its launch on December 12 received ‘incredible buzz’ with long queues and a live DJ.
River Island closes all shops by January 2026
River Island has been caught up in Britain’s high street trouble and its restructuring plan is moving towards online shopping rather than in-person retail branches.
It previously announced that 33 stores would be closing permanently by the end of January 2026.
On the plan, River Island’s CEO Ben Lewis said: ‘We have a clear transformation strategy to ensure the long-term viability of the business, and this decision gives us a strong platform to deliver this.’
He added: ‘Recent improvements in our fashion offer and shopping experience are starting to show results, and the restructuring plan will enable us to align our store estate to our customers’ needs.
‘We are grateful to our suppliers, landlords and other stakeholders for their constructive engagement and shared confidence in River Island’s future.’
The stores set to close by the end of this month are:
- Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
- Bangor Bloomfield, Northern Ireland
- Barnstaple, Devon
- Beckton, Greater London
- Brighton, East Sussex
- Burton-Upon-Trent, Derbyshire
- Cumbernauld, Scotland
- Didcot, Oxfordshire
- Edinburgh Princes Street, Scotland
- Falkirk, Scotland
- Gloucester, Gloucestershire
- Great Yarmouth
- Grimsby, Lincolnshire
- Hanley, Staffordshire
- Hartlepool, County Durham
- Hereford, Herefordshire
- Kilmarnock, Scotland
- Kirkcaldy, Scotland
- Leeds Birstall Park, West Yorkshire
- Lisburn, Northern Ireland
- Northwich, Cheshire
- Norwich, Norfolk
- Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Perth, Scotland
- Poole, Dorset
- Rochdale, Greater Manchester
- St Helens, Merseyside
- Surrey Quays, Greater London
- Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire
- Taunton, Somerset
- Workington, Cumbria
- Wrexham, Wales
Claire’s Accessories and The Original Factory Shop enter administration
Claire’s Accessories and The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) are the latest victims of Britain’s broken high streets, as the two chains have been put into administration.
Modella Capital said that attempts made to rescue the brands failed.
This means 1,355 employees in the UK and Ireland at 154 Claire’s shops will be put at risk.
Meanwhile, 1,220 staff across TOFS’ stores have also been put at risk.
Are any banks shutting this month?
Lloyds Banking Group has announced they will be shutting 15 Halifax sites and 40 Lloyds branches nationwide this year, as customers choose apps rather than physical banks to manage their money.
Halifax closures
- Birmingham Bearwood
- Buxton – Spring Gardens
- Camborne
- Deal
- Hastings
- Havant
- Horsforth
- Middleton
- Nelson
- Peterlee
- Sleaford
- Skipton
- Wandsworth, London
- Yeovil
Lloyds Bank closures
- Alfreton
- Ammanford
- Bideford
- Birmingham, Harborne
- Brigg
- Camborne
- Caterham
- Chepstow
- Chester-le-Street
- Deal
- Fleet
- Gillingham, Dorset
- Glossop
- Gorseinon
- Havant
- Hedge End
- Hedon
- Houghton le Spring
- Hucknall
- Ivybridge
- Lewes
- Liverpool Breck Road
- Manchester Moston
- Mitcham
- New Addington
- Okehampton
- Penzance
- Peterlee Yoden Way
- Petersfield
- Ryde
- Seaton
- Sleaford
- Stamford
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Swadlincote
- Thornbury Avon
- Totnes
- Totton
- Tunstall
- Wymondham
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