These are the high street names that could disappear forever

THOUSANDS of high street shops have closed in the first six months of this year, but some chains may also disappear forever.

In fact, retailers are currently fighting the worst trading conditions for five years, with the rise of online shopping and business rates blamed as the challenges.

In the first half of 2018, a whopping 2,692 stores closed while openings were also down a third, according to a study by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Local Data Company, which looked into 500 high streets.

The rate is actually similar to the same period in 2017, although there has been a dramatic fall in the number of openings year-on-year.

Greater London and the South East were the regions worst hit by closures of chains, followed by the Midlands, the North East and East of England.

Wales was the best-performing region, although it still saw a net loss of 22.

Ministers have been urged to take concerted action to help Britain's beleaguered town centres, with experts warning the turmoil is "unlikely to abate".

Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PwC, said the continued rate of store closures "reflects the new reality that many of us prefer to shop online and increasingly eat, drink and entertain at home".

"The high street is adapting to an overcapacity in retail and leisure space resulting from these channel shifts," she said.

"Looking ahead, the turmoil facing the sector is unlikely to abate. Store closures already announced in the second half of the year due to administrations and CVAs already will further intensify the situation."

Retail chains such as Toys R Us, Poundworld, Coast and Maplin all collapsed into administration recently, although Poundworld is set to make a return next year with 250 new stores.

But many others are still struggling, and the below retailers might soon become a distant memory.

Jamie's Italian

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has ploughed £12.7m of his own money into the business, which was last year on the brink of bankruptcy.

But he has admitted he has no more money to fund his struggling Italian restaurant chain.

Earlier this year, the chain revealed it was closing 12 of its 35 restaurants - affecting more than 600 jobs.

House of Fraser

The department store chain was rescued from administration by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley in August this year.

Earlier that month, House of Fraser had announced that 31 of its 59 stores would be closing in January 2019.

This would lead to 6,000 job losses - 2,000 House of Fraser staff and 4,000 across brands and concessions.

But Ashley is also planning to close stores, and has blamed "greedy landlords" for the issues.

Debenhams

The embattled department store chain could close more than 50 stores, following a a sharp fall in profits as consumers turn to online shopping.

Last month, Debenhams announced a loss of £500million for the year to September, which is the company's biggest loss in its 240-year history.

It has already identified 30 stores which could be resized to save money - but it has been held up by long and inflexible leases, it's said.

Marks & Spencer

The high street giant has been thought to be under threat of closure for several years.

As part of radical restructuring plan first announced in 2016, the struggling upmarket chain plans to close over 100 stores by 2022.

Mothercare

The maternity retailer is set to shut 60 shops by June 2019, with many of its staff losing their jobs as a result.

It's not yet clear which stores are going to be axed, but the closures will put 900 jobs at risk - up from the 800 previously stated.

Homebase

The DIY chain has announced a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) that will see the closure of 42 of its 246 branches.

Experts have speculated that this could affect as many as 1,500 jobs, but the retailer hasn't confirmed any exact numbers.

CVAs have been used with increased frequency as large and established chains struggle to adapt to the changing consumer landscape while being hit by headwinds including the increased costs from wages and rates.

Carpetright

The retailer has decided to shut loss making stores - 92 of over 400 stores - due to several problems the company has been having in the last year.

The general cost of running the business going up, coupled with more consumers shopping online rather than in store has had a negative impact on the retailer.

Prezzo

Earlier this year, the pizza chain announced it planned to shut almost one hundred branches, affecting 500 staff member across the UK.

The Italian chain secured a deal with creditors for a CVA to close unprofitable branches and secure rent reductions.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

The future of the fast-food chain was thrown into doubt last month as it earmarked 17 restaurants for closure.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), which is owned by South Africa's Famous Brands, operates more than 80 stores and employs 2,000 people.

Byron

GBK's rival Byron is also in trouble, with hundreds of jobs under threat as the burger chain said it would close nearly a third of its restaurants in the UK earlier this year.

The burger chain then employed around 1,800 people.

More than 25,000 high street jobs are currently at risk due to looming £730million business rate hike.

The death of the high street also means young will lose out on vital learning skills.

But the struggling high streets will be turned into modern community hubs under new rescue plans.

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