River Island to close over 30 stores before January as restructuring plan accelerates

River Island will close 33 UK stores before January, as the retailer moves into the next phase of its court-approved restructuring plan following a year of mounting losses and sliding revenues.

The closures form part of the Part 26A restructuring plan approved by the High Court in August - a lifeline that prevented the business from tipping into administration. Under the plan, the retailer will also cut rents across a further 71 stores over the next three years, with some landlords asked to suspend payments entirely.

The acceleration comes just days after River Island reported a £65.3 million operating loss for FY2024, almost double the year before, alongside a near-£50 million EBITDA loss and a 7.1% drop in sales to £537 million. Pre-tax losses also nearly doubled to £64 million. The retailer cited sustained margin pressure, rising costs and the continued shift to online shopping.

The financial results underline the severity of the crisis that led River Island to court in the first place. In submissions this summer, Matthew Weaver KC warned the retailer "simply has not been able to reverse" its financial decline, pointing to supply chain disruption, energy price inflation, wage hikes and intensifying fast-fashion competition, particularly from Shein. Without restructuring, River Island faced a projected £43 million cash shortfall by early September 2025.

The turnaround is being supported by £40 million in new funding from Blue Coast Capital, the Lewis family’s private investment vehicle, enabling the retailer to shrink to a more profitable store estate and secure long-term financial stability through 2028.

River Island’s leadership has also undergone significant change. Ben Lewis returned as CEO earlier this year, alongside a new CFO and a revamped executive structure. Early indicators suggest the shift is starting to take effect: according to the most recent Companies House filing, gross margins have improved, operating costs are lower and underlying store sales have returned to growth.

But the accelerated closures underscore the scale of the reset still ahead. Once a staple of UK high streets, River Island is now one of the most visible examples of the painful recalibration facing mid-market retailers.

The full list of store closures is as follows:

Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Bangor Bloomfield, Northern Ireland
Barnstaple, Devon
Beckton, Greater London
Brighton, East Sussex
Burton-Upon-Trent, Derbyshire
Cumbernauld, Scotland
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Edinburgh Princes Street, Scotland
Falkirk, Scotland
Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Great Yarmouth
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Hanley, Staffordshire
Hartlepool, County Durham
Hereford, Herefordshire
Kilmarnock, Scotland
Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Leeds Birstall Park, West Yorkshire
Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Northwich, Cheshire
Norwich, Norfolk
Oxford, Oxfordshire
Perth, Scotland
Poole, Dorset
Rochdale, Greater Manchester
St Helens, Merseyside
Surrey Quays, Greater London
Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire
Taunton, Somerset
Workington, Cumbria
Wrexham, Wales