Several well-known high street retailers and over the next few weeks. It is well-known that the Britishhas struggled over the last few years.

With lower footfall and higher running costs, many beloved chains have had to tighten their belts, and in some cases, it has meant closing their brick-and-mortar stores.

The Centre for Retail Research predicts that 17,349 shops will close in 2025, a sharp increase from the 13,479 closures recorded last year. The hike in closures is expected because of the government's change to business (NICs) and the rise in the national , which came into effect in April.

However, it is important to note that retailers close stores for a variety of reasons, and it doesn't just mean they are in trouble. Some close because the tenancy has come to an end on the site, or because the branch is not as profitable as others. Here we have listed all of the retailers with sites pulling down shutters over the coming few weeks.

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Three WHSmith stores will be closing this month, as it pushes ahead with its plan to shift away focus on its high street branches onto travel hubs. Last month, the stationary retailer sold off almost 500 branches to Modella Capital, with the stores set to be eventually rebranded as TGJones. Around 20 WHSmith stores are set to close in the coming weeks.

The stores closing in May are:

• Oldham, Greater Manchester – May 3
• West Mall, Frenchgate Centre, Doncaster – May 3
• Stockton, County Durham – May 17

Natwest will be closing 21 high street bank branches in May, with a total of 53 set to close before the end of June. According to consumer experts at Which?, over 6,000 high-street bank branches have closed in the last decade – and more than 1,400 of those were in the NatWest Group, which consists of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank.

The branches shutting next month are:

• Windermere, May 1
• Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, May 1
• Hollinwood, May 7
• Sheffield, May 7
• Widnes, May 8
• Morley, May 8
• Cannock, May 12
• Eanam, May 12
• Urmston, May 13
• Allenton, May 13
• Aintree Black Bull, May 14
• Goole, May 14
• Farnworth, May 15
• Leyland, May 15
• Wilmslow, May 20
• Trafford Park, May 20
• Basford, May 21
• Wallasey, May 21
• Louth, May 28
• Rawtenstall, May 29
• Long Eaton, May 29

Lloyds Banking Group announced the closure of 136 high street branches of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of in January. Like other high street banks, Lloyds said the closure come due to the rise in online banking. At the time, Lloyds said all workers at the affected branches would be offered jobs elsewhere in the company.

The outlets closing in May are:

• Beccles – May 6
• Fakenham – May 6
• Matlock – May 7
• Monmouth – May 8
• New Milton – May 13

Earlier this year, announced the closure of 17 of its Morrisons Daily convenience stores and 52 cafés across the UK. Alongside these closures, dozens of its Market Kitchens, florists, meat counters, fish counters and pharmacies were set to shut too.

The closures are part of an ongoing "renewal programme" of Morrisons' services, in which the brand is looking to reduce costs and boost growth. The Haxby Morrisons Daily branch in Yorkshire is closing for good on May 14.

Two Poundland shops are pulling down the shutters for good in May. The discount retailer's Clapham Junction station in south London is closing on Friday, May 2 with the chain's branch in St George’s Centre in Gravesend town centre, shutting on May 8.

The Spon Gate pub in Coventry will close on May 25. A spokesperson confirmed it was a commercial decision. However, punters should not be too disappointed as there are two other Wetherspoons pubs in the city.

Founded in Bournemouth in 1881, one of the UK’s oldest department store names will vanish from the high street after its final branch closes in Poole’s Dolphin Centre on May 14. Chief executive Tony Brown blamed the closure on increases in taxes and wages outlined in the budget, leaving the business "unviable".

Shoezone's Devonshire Road store will be closing for good on May 13. A Shoe Zone representative previously attributed the closure to a mix of soaring business rates, wage hikes and adverse weather conditions rendering some outlets "unviable".

Toy chain is set to this weekend. The retailer is pulling down the shutters on its Barrow-in-Furness branch on May 3. The store in Barrow had taken over a former Argos unit in the town centre in 2017.

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