Is your M&S closing? List of clothing and home stores that could be shut has been released

The high street store is shutting 80 outlets around the country due to plunging half-year profits

A list of Marks & Spencer clothing and home stores that could be closed has been released.

The high street store is shutting 30 outlets around UK and converting 45 others to Simply Food stores due to plunging half-year profits.
It will also shut 53 stores across 10 international markets – including 10 in China and seven in France, while pulling out of Belgium, Estonia, Hungary and Lithuania – putting around 2,100 jobs at risk.
The full list of closures has not yet been revealed by M&S but retail analysts say they have identified those stores at risk of shutting.
Local Data Company director Matthew Hopkinson told the Daily Mail: “There are 35 towns and cities that have more than two M&S stores either on the high street, in a shopping centre or on the edge of town in a retail park.
“If one removes the large urban centres such as London, Glasgow and other cities, there are 22 towns where one might question the need for two stores.”
M&S said the list was not based on any official data and dismissed it as ‘speculation’.
A spokesperson for Marks & Spencer said: “We are very disappointed that anyone would choose to speculate in this way.
“This list is not based on any M&S data and we have not published any locations.
“What we have done is outlined plans to improve our store estate over the next five years which include opening 200 new Food stores and selling Clothing and Home from 60 fewer stores.”

M&S is planning to expand its food offering, which is proving more of a success than its clothing
The latest restructure moves come as M&S revealed more sales falls in its embattled clothing division, with like-for-like sales down by 5.9% in the first half.
But it narrowed the sales decline from 8.9% in the first quarter – its worst performance for a decade – to 2.9% in the second quarter.
Same-store food sales fell 0.9% over the half-year, while it saw growth of 0.3% at M&S.com, leaving overall UK like-for-like sales 3% lower.
M&S has reported an 18.6% fall in underlying pretax profit for its first half to October 1, though that is slightly better than expected.
Profits of around £216million were predicted, but the actual figure posted this morning was £231.1 million.

Marks & Spencer flagship store in Paris, on Champs-Elysees, which will be shut (Photo: Google Streetview)

The international closures are part of a new plan to focus its international business on a franchise model. Pulling out of those international markets is expected to eliminate annual losses of £45 million.
In July, M&S announced its clothing arm suffered its worst performance for more than a decade as it cut back on promotions, with sales plummeting 8.9%.
The list
Aberdeen
Ayr
Banbury
Barrow-in-Furness
Basildon
Birmingham
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bolton
Boston
Bournemouth
Brentwood
Bridlington
Brierley Hill
Bristol
Buxton
Carlisle
Chichester
Coventry
Darlington
Dundee
Durham
Fareham
Hereford
Hull
Kettering
King’s Lynn
Leamington Spa
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Macclesfield
Maidstone
Manchester
Mansfield
Milton Keynes
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Northwich
Nottingham
Peterborough
Preston
Rochdale
Sheffield
Southampton
St Albans
Stockton-on-Tees
Stoke
Swansea
Swindon
Sunderland
Tunbridge Wells
Warrington