TG Jones to shut 22 stores this October in major high-street restructuring
TG Jones, the former WH Smith high-street chain, will close 22 stores across the UK this October, with the first two shutting today, as part of a wider restructuring.
TG Jones, the rebranded former WH Smith high-street chain, will close 22 branches across the UK this October as part of a major restructuring, The Sun reports.
The first two stores — in Bishop’s Stortford and Bury St Edmunds — shut their doors for good today, Saturday 3 October. Affected branches have launched “everything must go” clearance sales of up to 50 per cent off.
The Sun reports the closure programme continues with Inverness, Malvern, Truro, Maldon, Melton Mowbray and Bradford in the following week, then Wickford, Bridgnorth and Hythe High Street in Kent from October 12, followed by Pinner, Coney Street in York, Rickmansworth and Marlborough, then West Wickham, Stratford High Street, Ormskirk, Orpington and Droitwich through the end of the month. Billericay and Leek are confirmed to close this month but without exact dates.
Last year private equity firm Modella Capital bought the former WH Smith’s high-street arm in a £76 million deal. On July 1, TG Jones’s owners were granted approval for a company-wide restructure, axing 150 UK stores in a bid to save the brand from administration, with rent cuts at other branches. The Sun says more closures are set through the end of the year and into early 2027.
Essex County News corroborates the Essex picture: Basildon and Southend branches closed in September, with Maldon shutting October 9, Wickford on October 12 and Billericay closing sometime in October. It also reports lawyers saying the WH Smith-to-TG Jones rebranding damaged sales.
Sources
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