Poundland abruptly shuts popular store after 10 years – see full list of 22 closures
The bargain chain has shut a branch in Colchester retail park, in a blow to locals.
1
In the past, residents of the area have described the store as "great".
While another fan said: "The place is big, with almost everything you need at an affordable price."
The popular store shut this week, according to reports in EssexLive.
It as Poundland is preparing to pulling down the shutters on a store in Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Dudley, on July 18.
Meanwhile, a second in Cowes on the Isle of Wight and a third in Newquay gear up to close on July 30 and August 1, respectively.
Poundland has already closed 16 stores across the UK since March last year, including in Macclesfield, Maidenhead and Flint.
These are the 22 stores that have shut:
Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast – closed March 2024
Macclesfield – closed August, 2024
Maidenhead – closed October, 2024
Sutton Coldfield – closed October, 2024
Clapham Junction Station, London – closed May 2
Belle Vale Shopping Centre, Liverpool – closed May 6
St George's Centre, Gravesend – closed May 8
Southwark Park Road – closed May 14
Copdock Mill Interchange, Ipswich – closed May 20
Brackla, Wales – closed May 24
Chiswick High Road – closed May 28
Filton Abbeywood – closed May 31
Surrey Quays – closed June 11
Barrow Dalton Road - closed June 12
Union Gate, Bristol - closed June 20
Flint - closed June 21
Colchester - closed
Plymouth - closed July 5
Telford - closing July 19
Newquay - closing on July 30
Cowes, Isle of Wight – closing July 30
Newquay - August 1
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
7 minutes ago
- The Sun
Over 1,100 pubs and restaurants shut down since Chancellor Rachel Reeves' tax rises in October, figures show
OVER 1,100 pubs and restaurants have shut their doors since Chancellor Rachel Reeves's tax hikes last October, with venues closing at a rate of two per day, according to CGA and AlixPartners. The hospitality industry is struggling under soaring costs, with National Insurance changes and a 6.7 per cent minimum wage increase adding £2.9billion to employers' bills. Smaller businesses are taking the biggest hit, as restaurant numbers have already dropped by nearly three per cent this year. Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said: "Independent businesses, the lifeblood of our sector, are being disproportionately crushed under the weight of unfair taxation and soaring employment costs.' The sector has already lost 16,000 venues since the pandemic began, with mounting fears that upcoming changes to business rates could further damage larger hospitality companies. Wetherspoon's boss Sir Tim Martin has long warned that higher rates would worsen the tax burden on pubs, driving more home drinking and fewer pub visits. Ms Nicholls added: 'We now run the very real risk of being taxed out of existence. "The Government must lower the business rates that punish high street businesses, fix the poorly designed National Insurance Contributions that penalise job creation, and cut the rate of VAT to stimulate investment." Pub chain collapses into administration as SIX sites shut their doors for good and 159 job losses 1
BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Beloved' historic estate and gardens enter administration
A "beloved" historic estate and popular wedding venue has entered trustees of the 16th-Century Hestercombe House and Gardens, near Taunton, Somerset, have said running the site is longer viable due to low visitor numbers and cost firm Forvis Mazars, which has been appointed as an administrator, issued a statement confirming it will remain open for the time Boughey, from Forvis Mazars, said it is "sad" to see this happen "despite the passion and commitment of the current management team". He added that visitor numbers have been down over the past year and wedding operations are failing to deliver the profitability the wider estate requires."Like many businesses, Hestercombe has continued to suffer with increasing cost pressures to operate, leaving the trustees with little option but to seek the protection of Administration and the support of administrators."Hestercombe will continue to remain open and operate normally for the time being, whilst we explore all options for future sustainability," he added. Sale of assets Hestercombe Gardens trustees said the "beloved historic estate and gardens" played a central role in the cultural and social life of Somerset and beyond. It is hoped the administrators will ensure a structured and professional approach to managing the trust's cash flows and assets while exploring potential avenues for future restructuring and/or the sale of assets", a trustee spokesperson added.
The Guardian
7 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Labour thinktank offers sponsorship packages to meet and influence ‘key policymakers'
A Labour thinktank has been offering sponsorship packages where businesses can meet and influence MPs and ministers, according to a report. The Labour Infrastructure Forum (LIF) has been offering companies the chance to sponsor events at which they can meet 'key policymakers' in private and 'shape the discussion', the Times said. An LIF prospectus lists a set of sponsorship packages on offer for companies, including a £7,850 deal for a 'private breakfast/dinner roundtable with an influential Labour figure'. Other deals on offer include £11,750 for a 'parliamentary panel event with key policymakers', and between £21,500 and £30,000 for a 'Westminster drinks reception'. The prices are not inclusive of VAT. The Labour Infrastructure Forum describes itself on its website as 'a thinktank focused on getting Britain building and growing again'. It states that it wants to 'spark dialogue' between the party and 'those working across the infrastructure sector'. The thinktank was launched in September last year at an event with speeches from Darren Jones MP, the chief secretary to the Treasury, and Varun Chandra, a business adviser to Keir Starmer. It is not part of the Labour party and is not a lobbying company, which means it does not need to abide by the rules or guidance for lobbying firms or political parties. A spokesperson for the LIF told the Times that the group used sponsorship money to cover its costs and that 'any LIF activity that is supported by sponsors will be made publicly available at the time and in our annual report, as is common across the industry'. The group does not disclose its sponsors. The Labour party said it had no connection to LIF and does not endorse its activities. 'Commercial partnerships at events are a longstanding practice and have no bearing on party or government policy. The party fully complies with all rules relating to the reporting of donations,' a party spokesperson said. LIF states that its secretariat and work is supported by the lobbying company Bradshaw Advisory. The Times reported that a client of Bradshaw Advisory had been able to have a meeting last year with Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, at the Labour party conference, which has not been declared on transparency records. A Labour party spokesperson said: 'This was a meeting at party conference that was held in a political capacity. All meetings held in a ministerial capacity are declared in the proper way in full accordance with the rules.' Labour came under fire last autumn for offering company bosses breakfast with Reynolds for up to £30,000. For £15,000 plus VAT, companies were told they would get an opportunity to give a keynote speech, photographs with the business secretary and others, and a dedicated member of Labour party staff to help make introductions. For £30,000 they would also get to help decide who would attend. In the pitch, Labour's commercial team called the offer a 'unique opportunity to become a commercial partner at our business policy roundtable over breakfast'. The event ultimately did not go ahead and the party said Reynolds had been unaware of it. The Guardian reported last month that Labour MPs were alarmed at the number of sponsored corporate receptions for backbenchers that have been arranged by the party, amid concerns about perceived conflicts of interest. MPs said they had received invitations for networking receptions that include explicit advertisements for property developers or public affairs firms, sent directly from the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) office.
