B&M abruptly closes store after beloved shopping centre shuts ‘indefinitely’
B&M shocked shoppers when they announced that one of their busiest stores would be closing.
The budget retailer axed the store after the shopping centre attached to the branch was closed "indefinitely".
B&M’s store at The Square shopping centre in Birmingham is the latest shop to put its shutters down for the last time.
The discount store was one of the most popular shops at the centre, which closed abruptly in March 2025.
Shoppers were asked to leave The Square via an ominous announcement.
Meanwhile, employees were handed a “very vague” letter warning them to wait for updates.
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It was later revealed that there was a “high fire safety risk” at The Square, forcing it to shut "indefinitely".
Unable to open its doors to customers, B&M decided to close its store permanently.
Speaking about The Square's closure, developer Hammerson said: "We have been actively working to establish the nature of the extent of the remedial works required in order to reduce the risk.
"However, it is clear that the improvements and mitigations required for safe reopening are materially beyond what is reasonably practicable to implement.
"This would include the necessary vacation of Priory Square for a prolonged period of time to upgrade the electrical system.
"Following our careful review, and with the safety of all our tenants and members of the public as a priority, we have taken the decision that the only option is to close Priory Square indefinitely."
The discount chain has weathered the current retail crisis better than many other stores, having undergone a major expansion in 2023 when it bought 51 Wilko shops from the administrator.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
B&M is known for offering everything from discounted baby products to an incredible garden range that can transform your back yard while keeping costs down.
Other retailers have struggled due to the combined pressures of Brexit, the October budget and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic.
WHSmith announced that it would close 6 stores in April, while chains like Aldi and Sports Direct make plans to axe one store each this month.
Beloved retailer Home Store + More has announced that financial pressures have caused it to go bust, triggering an “everything must go sale” before it closes for good.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has defended her economic record despite the wave of high street closures.
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She has insisted that the October Budget and her Spring Statement were both necessary to stabilise the economy.
The Chancellor added that her decision to hike the National Living Wage by 6.7 per cent would give three million Brits a £1,400 pay rise.