WHSmith has already shut eight shops this year, in locations including Basingstoke, Winton, Rhyl, and Bolton and announced that a further 10 would be going across the spring
WHSmith is closing yet another high street store today ahead of a raft of closures across spring.
The books and stationery high street chain – which has around 500 UK stores – revealed in January that it was exploring “a possible sale” of its high street estate, as it focuses its attention on its travel locations, so shops in airports and train stations. WHSmith has already shut eight shops this year, in locations including Basingstoke, Winton, Rhyl, and Bolton and announced that a further 10 would be going.
The next store to close will be the Accrington, Lancashire branch, which will shut for the final time today. The company confirmed it will support staff through the transition and, where possible, redeploy them to other stores. A spokesperson for WHSmith said: “We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Accrington will be closing on March 15, 2025. It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.
“We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Accrington and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us. We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in-store colleges who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
A further six shops – including in Halstead, Halesowen, Diss, Newport, Woolwich and Haverhill – will close in April, following by two more branches in Stockton and Oldham in May. Another shop in Orpington, Greater London is also on the closure list, according to The Sun, but no set date has been announced yet.
This week it was reported that WHSmith was “edging” closer to a sale of its high street business. Sky News reported that private equity firms Alteri, which owns Bensons for Beds, and Hobbycraft-owner Modella Capital were the two remaining parties in talks with the retailer about a potential deal. It is thought a definitive deal could be announced in April after WHSmith’s interim results are announced.
WHSmith full list of closures
- Accrington, Lancashire – March 15
- Halstead, Essex – April
- Halesowen, West Midlands – April
- Diss, Norfolk – April
- Newport, Wales – April
- Woolwich, London – April
- Haverhill, Suffolk – April 26
- Stockton, County Durham – May
- Oldham, Greater Manchester – May
- Orpington, Greater London – no date given yet
