TG Jones to Close 150 Stores in Major Restructure

Stationery retailer TG Jones is closing up to 150 of its approximately 450 stores across the United Kingdom as part of a wide-scale restructuring plan. The plan, approved by the High Court on July 1, includes renegotiating commercial terms with landlords to secure rent reductions of 15 to 75 percent for hundreds of remaining locations.

Nineteen stores are scheduled to close during September, including branches in Bath, Cambridge, and Swindon. Other confirmed closures include a branch in Southend-on-Sea on September 26, a York location on October 19, and an Orpington store on October 28. The company has launched closing-down sales both online and in-store, with some items priced as low as £1. The closures threaten hundreds of jobs across the company's 4,700-person workforce.

Several closures will remove essential services from local communities. The shutdown of the Coney Street shop in York and the High Street location in Orpington will result in the loss of Post Office branches. The Post Office has stated it intends to open replacement branches as soon as possible, though it warned that the process typically takes approximately six months.

TG Jones was previously the high street arm of another retailer and was rebranded following a £76 million acquisition by Modella Capital. Despite the investment and rebranding, the company has continued to face poor trading performance.