The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has proposed closing 150 charity shops over the next two years amid an “exceptionally challenging trading environment”.
With 640 shops currently, BHF is the largest charity retailer in the country, but has decided to make the cuts after finding some of its stores were no longer financially sustainable.
BHF intends to close around 90 stores by the end of next March and the remainder by March 2028, with the affected shops to be revealed publicly after affected staff have been notified.
The charity, which is also proposing to reduce its central teams and functions that support its retail operation, would not say how many staff will be affected.
It said it would explore redeployment opportunities for affected staff and alternative opportunities for volunteers in nearby shops or elsewhere in the organisation.
‘Incredibly difficult decision’
In its announcement, BHF said its decision to close the shops followed a detailed review of its retail estate amid rising operating costs and changing customer habits.
The charity said it would “continue to evolve retail operations to reflect changing customer shopping behaviours and donor habits in the years ahead”.
Chief executive Charmaine Griffiths said: “We know this’ll be a difficult time for our dedicated colleagues and volunteers in affected stores and emphasise our deep appreciation and gratitude for all they’ve done for BHF and the communities they serve.
“Like most retailers, we’re facing an exceptionally challenging trading environment. Cardiovascular disease remains one of the UK’s biggest killers and our priority is funding research to save lives.
“We must take the difficult step to close some of our shops to sustain retail’s important contribution to funding BHF’s groundbreaking research.”
Chief commercial officer Allison Swaine-Hughes said: “Our success to date has been shaped by the dedication and contribution of our teams across the UK and this has been an incredibly difficult decision following a thorough and careful review.
“We recognise how challenging this’ll be especially for colleagues whose roles are affected and we’re committed to supporting everyone impacted.
“We must act now to ensure a sustainable future for BHF retail. Change is essential so we can continue to serve communities across the UK and raise the funds that power our lifesaving research.
“This is about protecting our mission for the long term, even when the decisions in the shorter term are hard.”
The charity said its overall financial position “remains healthy, with continuing strong performance across fundraising and legacy income”.
BHF’s net retail profits fell by £15.2m to zero in the year to March 2025, according to its accounts, as rises in staff pay and inflationary pressures pushed its related costs up by 5% to £230m.
While the charity recorded a record year for fundraising in 2024-25, its overall expenditure (£427m) exceeded its income (£411m) for a second successive year.
Charity retail faced with ‘unpalatable decisions’
Robin Osterley, CEO of the Charity Retail Association, said: “This is indeed sad news from BHF, whose shops have for so long been a staple of UK high streets.
“Not only will this be really difficult for the staff, volunteers, shoppers and donors – in other words, the communities – that are affected, but it’ll also create more vacancies in a number of shopping areas.
“Of course, we completely understand that BHF need to ensure that their resources are dedicated to raising money for the amazing medical research they do, rather than subsidising retail activities.
“The unfortunate truth is that the significant additional cost pressures that charity retail has recently been subject to have, in some cases, made these very difficult and unpalatable decisions necessary.”
Other major charity retailers announced closures last year, including Scope and Cancer Research UK, which is shutting almost 200 of its shops.
Osterley added that despite “some recent eye-catching closures, thousands and thousands of charity shops still thrive as a hugely important source of much-needed funds for charities, and are still places where incredible bargains, a warm welcome and a sense of community can be found”.
