Chaos for high street as 31 shops to close – River Island, TG Jones and Lloyds

Britain’s high streets are facing a continued crisis with more chain stores set to shut their doors in some areas. Retailers are increasingly feeling the pressure with rising costs, business rates and changing consumer habits.

No high street in the UK is a stranger to an empty unit here or there, with some towns or cities having a noticeable amount of trade-less buildings. The latest scenes on the high street have caused some well-known and much-loved brands to announce a string of closures.

TGJones has launched a closing-down sale at its branch in Inverness, Scotland. The store’s final closing date is yet to be confirmed.

Not only this but its branch in Swindon is set to close on September 14 with another shop in Southend-on-Sea scheduled to shut on September 26.

The WHSmith high street arm was sold last year and rebranded as TG Jones in a £76million shake-up to try and save the business. However, it is understood that trading has been poor.

TG Jones’s owner, Modella Capital, gained approval for a company-wide restructure on July 1 with up to 150 stores thought to be at risk of closure.

River Island operates around 200 shops nationwide and next month, it is preparing to close its Sheffield city centre store.

The branch, situated at 15 The Moor, is scheduled to shut its doors on September 1 and has reduced prices on selected items by 30% ahead of the closure.

In addition, the brand’s Oxford Street store in Swansea is also due to close on September 12.

The closures come just a year after River Island secured High Court approval for a major reoganisation plan.

The brand suffered a pre-tax loss of £32.3 million last year, and has already closed over 30 stores this year.

Lloyds Banking Group has revealed a fresh wave of closures across its Lloyds, Halifax and Royal Bank of Scotland branches.

In addition, 200 Halifax locations are set to be converted into Lloyds branches in 2027 as part of a wider brand consolidation drive.

The September closures follow Halifax shutting 25 branches back in June.

The banking giant stated that decisions regarding the future of its branches are “based on a range of factors, including how customers are choosing to bank and the availability of nearby services”.