It is a supreme pleasure for my policies of anti-growth and anti-business that I proudly announce this week’s closures. Some of these businesses were established decades ago, but in just 18 months of my rule — they’re fucked. Business closures UP, unemployment UP, inflation UP, national debt UP.
Along with the thousands of pubs, farms and companies going into administration thanks to those lovely Labour business rates and Labour taxes, I predict the next 18 months to be even more destructive. According to Companies House, more than 200,000 businesses have closed since I was put in charge of the British economy. That’s more than 770 a DAY. Thank you for voting Labour, now get back to work so you can pay the huge salaries of the bloated Big State apparatchiks and their gold-plated pension schemes.
BUSINESS CLOSURES
After operating for over ten years, a Kent-based brewing and bottling company with a “state-of-the-art” production facility has gone into administration. SOUTH EAST BOTTLING LIMITED (SEB), which operates from Broadstairs, was formally placed into administration on January 28, according to a notice published in The London Gazette on February.
GAME is closing all standalone stores across the UK as the high street giant plunges into administration due to a challenging business environment and heavy taxation.
POUNDLAND has confirmed that it will be closing seven stores this month, with closing-down sales launched at the branches. The additional closures follow the mass closures the retailer has carried out since June 2025.
A popular retailer in Northern Ireland that has been serving customers for more than half a century has announced it will close. WYSE BYSE, a small group of household goods stores in Ballymena, County Antrim, hit the high street in 1972.
NATWEST is one of the companies that is set to close even more branches over the next two years. 32 more closures were announced last week on top of the seven already confirmed.
The major car dealer, GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE, is set to shut down more branches across the UK, with jobs on the line in the latest dealership closure and a major blow to the motoring industry. American firm Group 1 Automotive is set to undertake a massive restructuring programme in a bid to cut costs in the UK.
BARRY M, one of Britain’s most recognisable cosmetics brands, is urgently seeking a buyer after taking formal steps toward administration, putting more than 40 years of family ownership at risk and highlighting the growing strain across the beauty industry.
High street chains CLAIRE’S and THE ORIGINAL FACTORY SHOP (TOFS) were put into administration after their owner said “last-ditch” measures had fallen through. About 2,500 UK staff were put at risk of redundancy. It will mean 1,355 employees in the UK and Ireland at 154 Claire’s shops will be put at risk, and 1,220 staff across 140 TOFS’ stores.
Nine brands were given administrators in January, which presented new difficulties for high streets around the country. Family-run businesses and UK-wide chains were forced to the brink by rising energy prices, rising wages, and the government’s National Insurance hike.
Thousands of stores, pubs, and restaurants went into administration last month, endangering hundreds of jobs.
Revolution bars owner THE REVEL COLLECTIVE closed 21 venues with the loss of 591 jobs after appointing administrators, who announced a sale to secure other parts of the business.
US beauty brand MALIN+GOETZ put its UK operations into administration, closing all its London stores and making shop staff redundant. Its UK online operation was set to return under guidance from the US. The administration affected seven branches, including Seven Dials, Soho, Spitalfields, Islington, Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station and Borough Yards.
CW SELLORS, the family-run jewellery chain had been on high streets since 1979, but it collapsed into administration, resulting in 36 redundancies.
BUST – Founded in 1879, RUSSELL & BROMLEY ran 36 stores and nine concessions across the UK and Ireland, employing around 440 people.
Administrators confirmed a load of TGI FRIDAYS restaurants would shut after the dining chain fell into administration. The company permanently shut 16 venues across the UK, in a move which hit 456 workers.
The British outdoor chain ALPKIT collapsed into administration towards the end of last month.
Fashion giant RIVER ISLAND is closing the doors to 11 shops (Saturday, January 31) in a blow to high streets across England and Scotland. The River Island shops will bring their shutters down for the final time.
Fashion chain QUIZ has confirmed it is entering administration, putting 44 shops across the UK and approximately 1,000 jobs at risk. According to The Telegraph, the retailer has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
88 charity shops to shut in 2026 – CANCER RESEARCH, SCOPE and OASIS closures. The iconic British charity shop Cancer Research announced it will be closing 88 stores by May 2026, with further closures expected in 2027. The charity explained this is due to long‑term financial pressures, including escalating running costs.
Swansea University is consulting on shedding 55 academic posts across a wide range of subjects as it grapples with its budget. The UCU union has warned in response that it will not rule out balloting members on industrial action.
The TRAVELODGE boss has derided Labour’s attack on hospitality as hotel costs soared to £50m.
WILLIAM HILL puts 200 UK stores at risk as closures confirmed – High street betting giant William Hill has confirmed it will close stores and has blamed the recent Budget and its changes to gambling taxes.
TRESPASS – The well-known sports and outdoor clothing brand announced it will be closing more branches in 2026 following a string of closures last year.
EDINBURGH WOOLLEN MILL, which has more than 100 UK stores, announced it would be closing its store in Dereham, Norfolk.
DOBBIES closed 8 garden centres across UK in one year. Dobbies Garden Centres closed eight of its garden centres between January and March
Outdoor clothing shop MILLETS will disappear from the Southsea, Portsmouth high street within weeks.
Stay tuned for more Rachel Reeves business “growth” next week…
