Five stores closed each day in Greater London in 2024, with four new stores opening, according to the latest data from PwC – resulting in net closures of one store per day.
The bi-annual report using data from Green Street, tracks over 200,000 chain outlets in over 3,500 locations to gain a picture of the changing landscape of chain outlets across the country.
Throughout 2024, 1,947 stores in London closed their doors, while 1,383 were opened – resulting in a net loss of 564 shops and outlets belonging to multiples and chains (those with five or more outlets).
With an overall reduction of -1.9%, London’s closure rate in 2024 is approximately one-fifth lower than the 2023 rate of -2.2%, marking the lowest rate since the challenging period from 2018 to 2021, when closures in the capital peaked at -5.8% in 2021. While this rate is lower than previous years, it is slightly above the Great Britain average of -1.8%.
PwC finds that net closures have stabilised, now sitting at -3,802 stores across Great Britain’s high streets, retail parks and shopping centres.
Laura Morroll, Consumer Lead for London at PwC UK, said, “London felt the impact of the pandemic profoundly, and it required time for the retail sector to adjust to the new post-pandemic landscape. It’s encouraging to witness the capital regain its footing, returning to pre-Covid levels while continually evolving its high streets to better serve consumers’ needs.”
“While retailers continue to face challenges, there are ample opportunities to unlock growth by embracing innovation, harnessing technology, and adopting omnichannel strategies”.
Net closures take the lead but opportunities beckon
The results for 2024 across Great Britain show that retail is witnessing a promising recovery as chain outlet closures fall to their second lowest level in a decade, with 12,804 closures reported. This marks an encouraging daily reduction to 35 closures, an improvement from 2023 (14,801 closures) and bettered only in 2022 (11,530 closures).
On the openings front, the count modestly declined to 9,002 openings, averaging 25 per day. This remains favourable compared to the pandemic years when openings fell below 20 per day, albeit still trailing behind the mid-2010s, when openings peaked at 34 per day. This number is a slight decline from 2023’s full year results that showed 9,138 new openings across England, Scotland and Wales.
Overall net closures for 2024 amount to -3,802, implying there were 10 more closures than openings per day, three fewer than in 2023 figures but above the mid-2010s lows. The overall net decline narrows from -2.3% in 2023 to -1.8% in 2024, signalling a trend towards stabilisation within the market.
The picture remains fairly stable across Great Britain with a net change ranging from -1.4% in Wales (-131 outlets) to -2.3% in the East of England (-452 outlets). While there are fluctuations in closure rates between UK regions from year to year, over the last 10 years, all regions saw cumulative closures within 2 percentage points of the national average.
Convenience winning, digitisation re-shaping services
Convenience stores and coffee shops lead the way with more than two net new openings a week boosting the leisure, grocery and value sectors. In 2024, there were 171 net new convenience stores, as major supermarket chains focus on rolling out smaller format stores. Meanwhile 105 new coffee shops opened, with a mixture of out-of-town and drive-thru outlets targeting consumers on the move, and city centre stores serving commuters returning to offices. Additionally, the retail landscape was enriched by 49 new takeaways, 36 new value retailers, and 25 new cafés.
Conversely, many of the closures in 2024 were due to continued structural changes in how we live, shop and work as well as a few one-off restructurings. Banks and other financial services outlets (396 net closures vs 583 in 2023) continue to be impacted by the broader online migration of financial transactions.
Restructuring had a bigger hand to play for some retail categories, including chemists (604 net closures), fashion stores (199 closures) and home décor outlets (152 closures). Although 2024 also saw a net of 561 chain pub closures, about half of these reopened as independents or smaller chains.
Jacqueline Windsor, Head of Retail at PwC UK comments on what the data means for retail businesses across the country, “Our latest Store Openings and Closures insights indicate a cautious optimism for the retail sector. This creates opportunities for stakeholders to seize momentum and unlock growth by tackling market challenges and capitalising on evolving consumer behaviours.”
“Whether it be investing in technology to enhance the consumer experience or drive productivity improvements, 2025 could be a big year for retailers who are smart about how they play in the market”.
High-Streets lagging behind
Retail parks saw a net increase of 0.4% of chain outlets, an acceleration of 0.1 percentage points compared with 2023. They remain the only location type showing growth. In fact, over a 10 year period, there were only 3% fewer retail park outlets in 2024 than there were in 2014.
By comparison, other locations have fared worse over the past decade, with 25% fewer shopping centre chain outlets and almost 30% fewer high street outlets than in 2014. Notwithstanding the long-term declining trend, both shopping centres and high streets saw fewer net closures in 2024 compared with 2023: shopping centres’ net decline fell from -2.5% to -1.2%, while the decline in high street chain outlets fell from -3.3% to -2.4%.
Zelf Hussain, Restructuring Partner at PwC UK commented on how this might look for openings and closures for 2025 said, “Although store closures declined in 2024 compared to the previous year, retailers continue to face significant challenges in 2025.
While household finances are improving, consumer confidence remains cautious. Additionally, with substantial payroll cost increases and higher business rates taking effect in April, profit margins will remain under pressure, further straining high street retailers.”
