Shoppers have been left ‘gutted’ as House of Fraser announced the closure of its Plymouth store in March 2026 — leaving the department store with just 11 branches across the entire UK
Customers have been left heartbroken after it was announced that yet another branch of a UK high-street staple is set to close scheduled later this year. Shutdown notices have emerged in the windows of the House of Fraser outlet in Plymouth, signalling that trading will end in March 2026.
As a result, this now leaves the renowned department store with only 11 locations nationwide. The outlet was originally set to shut in 2018 when House of Fraser entered administration; nevertheless, it received a lifeline after Sports Direct rescued the chain for £90million.
Currently, the Plymouth branch is offering 20% discounts on all merchandise before its final shutdown. The premises has been put on the market for £3million through commercial property specialists Vickery Holman.
Heartbroken customers have flocked to social media to voice their disappointment, according to the Express, with one shopper commenting: “There goes the only decent department stores we had left and one of the best baby changing stations! Genuinely gutted.”
Another lamented: “So many happy memories from my childhood and teenage years in this store — would come here with my much loved family who are all now gone — sad times.” A third distraught customer remarked: “Another boarded up shop.”
The department store shuttered its Bristol outlet last year and has axed nearly 50 locations since 2018. The shop, a former staple of several high streets, ran into issues when it encountered severe financial difficulties and Sports Direct stepped in with a rescue deal.
Eventually, the 169-year-old retailer was hauled out of administration mere hours after it entered it. Frasers Group, the parent company of brands such as Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels, noted that while trading has seen an improvement compared to last year’s budget-impacted period, it still lags behind the same period in its 2023/2024 financial year.
The firm’s Chief Financial Officer, Chris Wootton, expressed his frustration with the constant speculation surrounding the latest budget, describing it as “incredibly annoying”. Despite this, the company reported a 5.0% increase in revenue to £2.58 billion for the first half ending October 26, highlighting the strong performance of Sports Direct and the luxury sector, particularly at Flannels.
But this is not the first time that one of the UK’s most beloved high street shops has had to close down its operations. Last year, a slew of favourites were forced to shut up shop forever after they were unable to make their businesses work for them anymore.
Shops such as Claire’s and River Island were forced to slash the number of stores they owned right across the country as they were not able to make their money work for them. Most premises used by jewellery shop Claire’s will now be snapped up by the likes of other shops including The Range.
As well as this, Poundland has seen a staggering decline as it struggles to stay afloat, with dozens of closures over the new year period expected. It comes after the owners of the iconic low-cost shop put the business’ value at just £1.
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