Costa Coffee, House of Fraser & Marks and Spencer to close stores within weeks

Store closures have plagued high streets across the UK this year with major brands including WHSmith, Lidl, Next, The Works and Poundland having shut shops for good.

Now in the latest wave of retail action, Costa Coffee, House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer are among those planning to get rid of brick-and-mortar sites before the end of May.

Marks and Spencer

The popular multi-purpose retailer will bid farewell to its Broadway Shopping Centre branch in West Yorkshire later this week.

Local shoppers will see the Marks and Spencer store close its doors for the last time on Saturday, May 18.

When first announcing the closure a spokesperson credited it to its plans to shake up its store portfolio, though this hasn’t stopped customers from sharing their disappointment.

Branded an “absolutely brilliant” shop in Google Reviews, the shop is popular among locals. One wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “My 30 years of loyalty to Marks and Spencer comes to an end, I’m sure along with lots of other loyal Bradfordians. Hello Waitrose, £4 delivery charge from Otley to Bradford and amazing food.”

Another said: “That’s it then. Bradford City Centre no longer has a single full-sized supermarket. All that’s left are the small Tesco and Sainsbury’s which have limited stock sold at higher prices than in their larger branches. I’m disabled and have no car. Bradford just died!”

A statement from M&S explained that “shopping habits are changing” and claimed it wanted to make sure “we have the right stores in the right place and with the right space”.

It added that it would continue to serve customers at Marks & Spencer branches at Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bingley, and Ilkley – all Simply Food outlets – as well as Owlcotes at Pudsey, and online.

Costa Coffee

A popular Costa branch in Uppingham will no longer be open to customers by the end of the month.

The Rutland site, known as a “delightful haven” by loyal customers who have shared Google reviews, is still open as usual, though this will soon change.

According to a Costa Coffee spokesperson, all staff members will be redeployed to other stores, though an exact closing date is yet to be determined.

When it does happen, fans of the coffee brand in the area will be able to get their Costa-fox elsewhere. That is, if they can make the seven-mile journey to do so.

House of Fraser

The long-standing British department store has minimised its number of physical stores to just shy of 30.

Shoppers who frequent the branch in Carlisle will soon see it shut down for good after it announced a closing-down sale. An exact closure date has not yet been revealed, though it is expected before the month’s end.

When the store does close, it means the Cafe Nero branch inside will be gone too, forcing coffee lovers to get their fix elsewhere.

One person took to X to proclaim Carlisle city centre as “dire”, asking “what is promising” about the shopping district anymore.

A second person chimed: “Show me what is promising about the center of the city it’s the councils’ fault for allowing all the out of town supermarkets. They sell everything”