It has not been a good start to the year for the high street, and there’s little to suggest help is on its way. A mad war, a mad economic policy and even madder back-bench politicians are driving businesses off the high street, jobs out of the communities and steering the economy into the hands of the rapacious online oligarchs and the rise of the black market. Welcome to Back Street Britain.
William Hill last week became the latest big beast brand to announce a mass closure of its high street stores, confirming 15 percent of its UK retail estate will be shuttered as of next month.
The move will affect 200 shops, and comes after fellow bookmakers Paddy Power and Ladbrokes announced a similar reduction of their bricks-and-mortar portfolios.And they are not alone.
And they fall
Lloyds Bank are knocking off nearly 100 branches in 2026, Poundland are closing 150, high street mainstays Russell and Bromley are as good as gone with 33 downed, Revolution are losing 21 bars, GAME 3, Topps Tiles are bottoming out. And we haven’t even started on the pubs and the clubs where an estimated 1,000 plus are set to close this year.
Forget the banks, they don’t give a crap about the customers, they have cottoned on to the fact that they don’t need a high street presence.
But real retailers that are part of and serve their local communities on the high street are being axed by a poisonous cocktail of excessive costs, tax and, in the amusements gaming and gambling industry, regulation that has tangled and strangled business.
So why are they leaving?
At William Hill, the biggest departure so far this year, it’s a government inflicted exit.
“Following a thorough review and further to increased cost pressures on the regulated sector including significant tax increases announced by the Government in last year’s Autumn Budget, from May we are closing a number of shops that are no longer sustainable,” said a spokesperson for parent company Evoke.
“These decisions are never taken lightly; however, in the face of rising cost pressures, we must take action to ensure we can continue to invest in our core retail estate, with the right shops, in the right locations.”
The impact?
William Hill employs approximately 8,000 people across a total of 1,300 high street sites, so the calculation is pretty simple.
Who can we blame?
The government is being pummelled with this message of distress across the business community, particularly the broad based hospitality sector.
With respect to the gambling industry, back-bench Labour MPs and the Gambling Commission are adding intense pressure to up the restrictions and, with the Gambling Impact Assessments currently being debated, potentially drive several hundred more retail units off the high street.
What way the government turns is difficult to determine. But for what it’s worth, most people would want to keep the high streets alive than appease virtue signalling MPs and pay even higher salaries to regulation officials.
Originally published on Coinslot on April 19, 2026. Republished with permission.