Major high street chain forced to axe jobs after suffering huge losses | UK | News
A toy retailer with 160 stores and more than 1,000 concessions in the UK has been forced to sack Rachel Reeves due to tax rises and a rise in wages.
Founded in 1981 by Gary and Catherine Grant, The Entertainer is the UK’s largest toy chain, with franchises at various other retailers including Tesco and Matalan. Recent documents lodged at Companies House revealed that the effects of the Budget have led to 41 redundancies and the closure of another 15 positions that were previously open for recruitment.
Documents lodged on October 27 revealed that Teal Group Holdings, to which the store was affiliated, had called it quits after the Chancellor’s 2024 Budget.
The parent group suffered a pre-tax loss of £10 million in the 12 months to February 1, 2025, despite the company making a profit of £6 million in the previous year, according to The Sun.
The documents state: “Following the Government’s Autumn Budget 2024 and the resulting unannounced rise in employment costs, The Entertainer sought to offset these by initiating a restructuring of its head office operations in March 2025.
“This resulted in 41 layoffs and the closure of another 15 positions that were previously open for recruitment.
“This resulted in a total payment of £1.089 million at the end of the year.”
The job cuts come after Brits were advised to brace themselves after Rachael Reeves warned “each of us must do our bit”; This promise was widely suggested to lead to new tax increases in the Autumn Budget on 26 November.
The Entertainer founder Gary Grant transferred ownership of TGH to an employee ownership trust in August 2025, and the transfer became effective the following month.
As a result, 1,900 employees own The Entertainer, as well as the Early Learning Center and Addo Play.
In a report prepared by BBC He notes that Addo and The Early Learning Center serve retailers and distributors in 30 regions, including the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. It is also “the sole supplier of The Entertainer in the UK”.
