POUNDLAND is shutting 12 more branches today as it carries on with a huge restructure to save the chain.
It’s already launched a closing down sale with prices slashed by up to 75%.
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It comes after the beloved British store confirmed it would be shuttering 48 locations this month.
So far in August, it’s closed 25 branches – with 12 more following today, and another 11 on August 31.
Poundland currently operates 800 stores nationwide, but hopes to significantly reduce this number to between 650 and 700.
This includes the 68 stores closing by mid-October, as well as additional stores shutting when leases expire and are not renewed.
It comes ahead of a crucial High Court hearing on its restructuring plans currently scheduled for August 26, which is set to decide the future of the chain.
These plans were outlined in June by the investment firm Gordon Brothers, after it bought the chain for £1.
The court will decide whether the store closures can go ahead as planned.
Poundland has so far closed doors to customers to save cash, but it’s not yet surrendered the leases to landlords.
Which Poundland stores are closing?
THE below Poundland stores are closing, if they haven’t already.
Closed on August 10:
- Ammanford
- Birmingham Fort
- Cardiff Valegate
- Cramlington
- Leicester
- Long Eaton
- Port Glasgow
- Seaham
- Shrewsbury
- Tunbridge Wells
Closed on August 17:
- Bedford
- Bidston Moss
- Broxburn
- Craigavon
- Dartmouth
- East Dulwich
- Falmouth
- Hull St Andrews
- Newtownabbey
- Perth
- Poole
- Sunderland
- Stafford
- Thornaby
- Worcester
Closing on August 24:
- Brigg
- Canterbury
- Coventry
- Newcastle
- Kings Heath
- Peterborough
- Peterlee
- Rainham
- Salford
- Sheldon
- Wells
- Whitechapel
Closing on August 31:
- Blackburn
- Cookstown
- Erdington
- Kimberley Kimberley Shopping Centre, Nottingham
- Horsham
- Hull Holderness
- Kettering
- Omagh
- Shepherds Bush
- Southport
- Taunton
The following are also planned under the restructure, which is subject to court approval:
- Close its frozen and digital distribution centre in Darton, South Yorkshire, later this year
- Close its national distribution centre in Bilston, West Midlands, in early 2026
The closures of the Darton distribution centre means online shopping and frozen food would no longer be offered at Poundland.
The retailer is currently consulting with staff regarding job cuts, but hasn’t yet confirmed how many would be affected.
Come September 16, shoppers will no longer be able to buy products off its website and its loyalty scheme, Poundland Perks will be axed.
Loyalty scheme customers signed up to the Poundland Perks app have until January 15, 2026, to use their rewards vouchers.
Meanwhile, Poundland also wants to provide more womenswear and seasonal ranges.
Plus, it plans to increase the number of products sold in store for just £1.
Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “Retailers like Poundland are being squeezed from both sides: inflation and rising input costs have eroded already thin margins, while weak consumer confidence continues to suppress growth.
“If the plan is approved, it could offer a pathway to stabilisation.
“However, a rejection from the High Court could trigger more closures across its 800-store estate, and significant job losses.
“In an environment like this one, gently tinkering with a business simply will not work if it’s struggling to survive and Poundland is the latest example of what retailers will have to do in order to survive.”
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.”
