Charity shop Scope closes 59 stores in 2025 – full list | UK | News
A high street charity shop chain has already closed 56 stores this year and more are expected to shutter completely in the coming weeks… and a further three are closing today (Saturday 6 December). Scope faces a series of closures after the charity shop chain closed 56 branches by 2025. 21 more stores are under threat of closure in 2026.
By the end of September, 56 of the disability equality organisation’s stores had ceased trading; This means almost half of Scope stores in England and Wales will face brutal disruption. There was a series of closures earlier this year; There was another wave in the summer and even more in the autumn. Some locations and staff were taken over One World UK CIC. The organization is considering closing 77 of its total 138 stores. The exact list of 2,026 stores closed and the remaining 21 stores under threat has not yet been finalized.
The reasons behind the removal of Scope’s high street stores were revealed by the charity’s chief executive Mark Hodgkinson, who said it was due to the cost of living crisis and the rise of online shopping.
He explained: “This situation is not limited to Scope. All retailers have been affected by a greater shift to online shopping and we are faced with rising rents, rising energy costs, rising staff costs and the cost of living squeezing customers.”
The full list of 56 Scope closures in 2025 is: Alton, Bishop’s Stortford, Huntingdon, Newmarket, Beverley, Fleet, Halstead, Hinkley, Camborne, Kendal, Gosport, Wednesbury, Rochdale, Nuneaton, Gillingham High Street, Beckenham, Portsmouth, Taunton, Bromley, Bridgwater, Burton, Blyth, Hove George, Burton, Erdington, West Hampstead, Exmouth, Bury, Newport, Southampton (Portswood Road), Atherstone, Welling, Amersham, Barking, Bangor, Birkenhead, Bishop Auckland, Castleford, Devizes, Dewsbury, Eastbourne, Haywards Heath, Lewisham, New Milton, Orpington, Parkstone, Scunthorpe, Shirley (Southampton), Skipton, Laborton, Bexhill, Hertford, Mitcham, Petersfield, Scarborough, worthing
Scope is a UK-based charity that provides support, campaigns and services to create a more equal future for people with disabilities. It helps disabled people and their families by providing practical information, assistance and advice on energy bills, and emotional support through its helpline and online community. The charity also provides services for disabled children and adults, runs campaigns to change attitudes and influence policy, and offers employment support opportunities.
Debbie Boylen, head of retail at disability equality charity Scope, said: “Scope has been campaigning for disability equality for over 70 years. Our stores have helped us raise vital income to support our work with disabled people and their families.
“We have consulted with colleagues and volunteers regarding proposals to close our 77 stores. We are very sorry to confirm that our stores in Morden, Torquay and Washington will close on Saturday 6 December.
“We have received incredible support from these wonderful and generous communities. We never take the decision to close our stores lightly.
“We recognize that this is more than just a job for our colleagues and volunteers. We know they are passionate about playing their part in our work, creating an equal future for people with disabilities. We will do everything we can to support them and our decision does not reflect their hard work and commitment to Scope.
“Scope continues to have a future on the high street and our stores will continue to be a place where we engage directly with local communities, where they can learn about Scope’s work and join our movement for change.”
But it’s not the only charity struggling to survive on Britain’s troubled high street. Cancer Research UK It plans to close around 200 stores by mid-2026/2027 due to rising costs, declining footfall and online competition. The charity announced in October that it would reduce the size of its main chain to around 320 high street stores, closing 90 stores by May 2026, then up to 100 stores by April 2027.
But Cancer Research UK plans to open 12 more “superstores” by 2028, adding to its 46 out-of-town department stores; He said these stores will meet the growing demand for spacious, value-oriented shopping experiences.
Other charitable retailers also said: Charity Retail Association (CRA) The trade organization also said they are considering following in Scope’s footsteps and significantly reducing store space.
Charity retailers told the CRA that “this is the worst time they have ever encountered for trading” and that their store sites “are likely to come out of this 100% unscathed”.
“We have already seen a significant reduction in store real estate for Scope, one of our most experienced and largest members, and anecdotally we are aware that there are others, particularly from our larger members, who are considering similar action,” CRA executives wrote in a blog.
“There seems to be a perfect storm at the moment, with revenue remaining relatively flat and cost pressures almost unprecedented. These two factors are combining to hit profitability in a way that most charity retailers have rarely seen before.”
The CRA’s directors said “revenue growth in charity retailing is now very modest” compared to 2022 and 2023, “the best years charity retailing has ever had”.
A recent survey of 52 CRA members found that more than a third of respondents said they might reduce the number of paid staff or work hours in response to rising costs. Almost a third of those surveyed said they might close stores, while almost two-fifths said they might reduce plans to open new stores and just over a fifth said they might reduce trading hours. Meanwhile, two-thirds of those surveyed said they could set prices in their stores.
