Here are some of the stores which have closed their doors over the last 12 months
15:02, 30 Dec 2025Updated 07:37, 31 Dec 2025
Poundland’s Charles Street branch closed in August.(Image: Leicester Mercury)
As the year draws to a close, we have rounded up some of the stores which Leicester and Leicestershire have said goodbye to in 2025. Both the city and county have seen some big names depart its streets including national discount giant Poundland, as well as British beauty retailer Bodycare.
Poundland has seen five of its stores go this year, including two in the city centre as its Charles Street branch closed in August, before its Belgrave Gate store in October. Poundland in Market Harborough then closed in October, while the branches in Loughborough and Thurmaston followed suit in November.
The fifth and final Poundland to say goodbye this year was the Melton branch which closed down in December, leaving just its Wigston and Gallowtree Gate stores open. Poundland made the decision to close some of its shops across the UK, as part of a restructuring process involving “operating a store network of around 650-700 stores compared to 800 as leases expire or a landlord serves notice”.
UK-based health and beauty retailer Bodycare saw the exit of its stores in Leicester in September. Its Castle Street, Hinckley, branch closed alongside its location in Loughborough’s The Rushes Shopping Centre.
Two New Look stores were closed.(Image: Matthew Horwood / Getty Images)
A third store closed in Highcross, with the closures coming due to the company appointing administrators from Interpath in early September.
Meanwhile, global fashion retailer New Look also closed two of its stores in Leicestershire this year as its location in Loughborough’s Carillon Court Shopping Centre shut in January. December saw New Look permanently close another one of its shops, in The Britannia Centre, Stockwell Head, Hinckley.
Hinckley additionally saw the loss of a bank, as NatWest in The Borough closed in September. LeicestershireLive reported that the decision to shut the bank was made as Natwest bosses blamed “increasing use of digital banking” for making branches less well used.
Ashby lost one of its Co-op stores which shut in November. The retail business said that its location to close the Derby Road branch came after “very careful consideration” following “reviews” of the supermarket.
Leicestershire lost a family-owned business which had been trading for 15 years prior to its closure. Giftbox Solutions, better known as Charlie & Alf’s, announced in September that it had shut its doors for good.
Around £40,000 worth of assets were sold off, as Midlands-based Kumar and Company were instructed to handle the liquidation of the store. The auction featured Jellycat stuffed toys, books, cushions, Christmas decorations, and more.
The Pret A Manger store in Gallowtree Gate in Leicester city centre will be closing(Image: Google maps)
Back in the city centre, Leicester saw the closure of global food-to-go retailer, Pret A Manger, which closed in July for a second time. The location in Gallowtree Gate closed in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, however returned in 2022 for just three more years.
Bakery and coffee shop chair Butterwick also departed Leicestershire entirely, as it shut four stores with immediate effect. Its Leicester Highcross spot exited the shopping centre in September, along with its Church Street store, in Market Harborough.
It also closed its location in Market Harborough Train Station in Rockingham Road, and its Melton store in S Parade, in September. Butterwick said it had made the decision to close the branches due to “rising operating costs”.