A MAJOR supermarket chain is planning to close over 100 locations across the UK.
The restructuring will see 103 locations, including cafés, florists, and pharmacies, cease operations before the end of the year.
Morrisons, which ranks as the fifth largest supermarket chain in the UK, announced the string of closures, delivering a significant blow to shoppers.
In 2021, the brand operated a total of 497 supermarkets spanning England, Wales, and Scotland, as well as one outlet in Gibraltar.
During this time, the retailer employed 110,000 staff members and catered to approximately 11 million customers weekly.
However, 103 daily stores, cafés, florists, and pharmacies belonging to the company will close nationwide before the end of the year.
Read More On Store Closures
Previous closures
According to reports from the Express, most of the 17 daily Morrisons convenience store closures have already occurred, with outlets pulling the shutters permanently in April.
Now Morrisons has officially confirmed it will close 51 cafés, 13 florists, four pharmacies, and all 18 Market Kitchens before the end of the year.
An announcement from the company in March 2025 said the closure programme was set to be rolled out “over the next few months”.
Morrisons confirmed that certain employees working within these services will be moved to other areas of the business.
The supermarket giant went on to state the reductions were essential as “costs of operations are significantly out of line with usage, volumes, or the value that customers place on them”.
“A minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option,” Chief executive Rami Baitieh explained.
Daily Store closures
With a total of 17 Daily Store closures announced earlier in 2025, all locations bar one shut on April 16.
The Haxby branch in North Yorkshire closed less than a month later on May 14.
And the 16 other locations to close were:
- Gorleston, Lowestoft Road, Norfolk
- Peebles, 3-5 Old Town, Scottish Borders
- Shenfield, 214 Hutton Road, Essex
- Poole, Waterloo Estate, Dorset
- Tonbridge, Higham Lane Estate, Kent
- Romsey, The Cornmarket, Hampshire
- Stewarton, Lainshaw Street, East Ayrshire, Scotland
- Selsdon, Featherbed Lane, Greater London
- Great Barr, Queslett Road, West Midlands
- Whichham, Oakfield Road, Tyne & Wear
- Worle, Queensway, Somerset
- Goring-By-Sea, Strand Parade, West Sussex
- Woking, Westfield Road, Surrey
- Wokingham, 40 Peach Street, Berkshire
- Exeter, 51 Sidwell Street, Devon
- Bath, Moorland Road, Somerset
Cafe closures
While Morrisons confirmed the shuttering of 51 of its cafes, closure dates for all locations have yet to be announced.
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.”
The company added that the cafes have “a bright future” in most locations.
Morrisons said it planned to work with “third parties to provide a relevant specialist offer”.
The locations confirmed to be closing are:
- Banchory, North Deeside Road, Aberdeenshire
- Bathgate, West Lothian
- Bellshill, John Street, North Lanarkshire
- Blackburn, Railway Road, Lancashire
- Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
- Bradford, Thornbury, West Yorkshire
- Brecon, Free Street, Powys, Wales
- Bromsgrove, Buntsford Industrial Park, Worcestershire
- Caernarfon, North Road, Gwynedd, Wales
- Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, Wales
- Crowborough, East Sussex
- Dumbarton, Glasgow Road, West Dunbartonshire
- East Kilbride (Lindsayfield), South Lanarkshire
- East Kilbride (Stewartfield), South Lanarkshire
- Elland, West Yorkshire
- Erskine, Bridgewater Shopping Centre, Renfrewshire
- Failsworth, Poplar Street, Greater Manchester
- Glasgow (Newlands), Glasgow City
- Gloucester, Metz Way, Gloucestershire
- Gorleston, Blackwell Road, Norfolk
- Hadleigh, Suffolk/Essex
- Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute
- High Wycombe, Temple End, Buckinghamshire
- Kirkham, Poulton Street, Lancashire
- Largs, Irvine Road, North Ayrshire
- Leeds (Horsforth), West Yorkshire
- Leeds (Swinnow Road), West Yorkshire
- Leighton Buzzard, Lake Street, Bedfordshire
- Littlehampton (Wick), West Sussex
- London (Erith), Greater London
- London (Harrow, Hatch End), Greater London
- London (Queensbury), Greater London
- London (Stratford), Greater London
- London (Wood Green), Greater London
- Lutterworth, Bitteswell Road, Leicestershire
- Mansfield (Woodhouse), Nottinghamshire
- Newcastle upon Tyne (Cowgate), Tyne & Wear
- Northampton, Kettering Road, Northamptonshire
- Oxted, Station Yard, Surrey
- Paisley, Falside Road, Renfrewshire
- Portsmouth, Hampshire
- Reigate, Bell Street, Surrey
- Sidcup, Westwood Lane, Greater London
- Solihull, Warwick Road, West Midlands
- Stirchley, West Midlands
- Troon, Academy Street, South Ayrshire
- Warminster, Weymouth Street, Wiltshire
- Watford, Ascot Road, Hertfordshire
- Welwyn Garden City, Black Fan Road, Hertfordshire
- Weybridge, Monument Hill, Surrey
- Wishaw, Kirk Road, North Lanarkshire
Market Kitchen closures
The chain’s Market Kitchen is an in-store dining concept offering freshly prepared meals from various food counters specialising in different cuisines.
All 18 Market Kitchen locations were announced to be closing in 2025 as part of the plans to streamline operations.
These Market Kitchens are located in:
- Aberdeen, King Street
- Basingstoke, Thorneycroft
- Brentford, Waterside
- Camden Town, London
- Canning Town, London
- Cheltenham, Up Hatherley
- Eccles, Irwell Place, Greater Manchester
- Edgbaston, Birmingham
- Gravesend, Coldharbour Road
- Kirkby, Merseyside
- Leeds, Kirkstall
- Lincoln, Triton Road
- Little Clacton, Centenary Way
- Milton Keynes, Westcroft
- Nottingham, Netherfield
- Stoke, Festival Park
- Tynemouth, Preston Grange, North Shields
- Verwood, Dorset
Pharmacy closures
Morrisons’ Chief Executive, Rami Baitiéh, described the closure of four of the company’s pharmacies as a “necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate” the chain.
He added that the restructuring will allow the company to focus on areas that “customers really value”.
With closure dates yet to be confirmed, the four pharmacy located have been named as:
- Birmingham, Small Heath
- Blackburn, Railway Road
- Bradford, Victoria
- London, Wood Green
Florist closures
Morrisons introduced its in-store florists in 2009 as part of an iniatitive aiming to bring specialist, craft-based departments into stores.
In 2020, the chain expanded doubled the number of professional florists in its stores and added 60 new stations across the UK.
However, in 2023, Morrisons began to scale back its operations.
It has now announced the following locations will be closing:
- Aberdeen, King Street
- Bradford, Enterprise 5
- Canning Town, London
- Evesham, Four Pool Estate
- Newcastle Under Lyme, Goose Street
- Rubery, Bristol Road South
- Sheffield, Meadowhead
- Sheldon, Birmingham
- St Albans, Hatfield Road
- St Helens, Boundary Road
- Stirchley, Birmingham
- Sunderland, Doxford Park
- Swinton, Swinton Hall Road
