River Island, a staple of the British high street for generations, has received High Court approval to shutter 33 shops across the UK, in a sweeping restructuring move designed to keep the embattled fashion retailer afloat. The decision, handed down on August 8, 2025, comes after months of mounting financial pressure, with the company warning that it could collapse into administration if the plan was not sanctioned.
The ruling marks a turning point for River Island, whose familiar storefronts have dotted towns and cities since its origins as Lewis’s in the 1940s and later as Chelsea Girl. The company, which now operates 223 stores in the UK and Ireland, will also seek reduced rents on 71 additional branches as part of the restructuring. None of River Island’s Irish shops are slated for closure.
According to BBC, the company’s leadership pointed to a “sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years” and a seismic shift in consumer habits toward online shopping as the root causes of its woes. River Island’s most recent accounts revealed a £33.2 million loss for 2023, following a 19% drop in sales to £578.1 million. Just a year earlier, the retailer had managed a modest profit of £2 million.
The restructuring plan, which will see the closure of stores in locations ranging from Aylesbury and Bangor Bloomfield to Brighton, Edinburgh, and Norwich, is expected to commence in January 2026. The full list of affected sites covers a broad swath of the UK, with closures in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Among the towns set to lose their River Island presence are Barnstaple, Beckton, Burton-Upon-Trent, Cumbernauld, Didcot, Falkirk, Gloucester, Great Yarmouth, Grimsby, Hanley, Hartlepool, Hereford, Kilmarnock, Kirkcaldy, Leeds Birstall Park, Lisburn, Northwich, Oxford, Perth, Poole, Rochdale, St Helens, Stockton On Tees, Surrey Quays, Sutton Coldfield, Taunton, Workington, and Wrexham.
Chief executive Ben Lewis, in a statement reported by The Guardian, said: “We are pleased that River Island’s restructuring plan has been approved by the High Court. We have a clear transformation strategy to ensure the long-term viability of the business, and this decision gives us a strong platform to deliver this. Recent improvements in our fashion offer and shopping experience are starting to show results, and the restructuring plan will enable us to align our store estate to our customers’ needs.”
The plan isn’t just about store closures. River Island will also be making deep cuts at its London head office, with around 110 of 950 roles set to be made redundant—an estimated savings of £8.1 million, according to Bloomberg. The company, which employs roughly 5,500 people, says that the majority of its workforce will remain, with more than 4,000 jobs saved by the restructuring. Still, over 1,000 jobs and about 70 sites remain at risk as the company negotiates rent reductions with landlords.
River Island’s barrister, Matthew Weaver KC, told the High Court that “the company simply has not been able to reverse” a trend of financial difficulty. Weaver explained that unless the restructuring was approved, insolvency would be the only alternative. The company had previously warned creditors that it would run short of cash by the end of August 2025 without the turnaround plan, with a projected shortfall of more than £43 million and a need for at least £10 million in funding by mid-September. That figure could rise to £50 million by the end of the year.
The rescue package has been closely watched by retail analysts and other high street brands, many of which are grappling with similar pressures. As The Guardian noted, River Island has outlasted rivals such as Topshop, Oasis, Ted Baker, and Warehouse, all of which now trade solely online in the UK. The rise of online-only retailers like Shein and Temu, which benefit from tax breaks on direct-to-consumer imports, has further squeezed traditional brick-and-mortar chains.
Charles Allen, an intelligence analyst at Bloomberg, observed that River Island had “failed to keep up with customer tastes which, he said, can be a bit fickle but the retailer had found itself without anything striking.” He added that the shift to online shopping and rising employer National Insurance contributions had compounded the company’s challenges. “There’s just less business going in shops,” Allen told BBC’s Today programme.
Nick Sherrard, managing director at consultancy Label Sessions, offered a blunt assessment: “People keep repeating the line that River Island is a much-loved brand. It really isn’t anymore. River Island is a much-recognised brand and, while that’s important, it’s not the same thing at all.” He questioned whether cost-cutting alone would be enough, asking, “Does someone have a vision for what to do after the cost cutting? There are very few examples of companies shrinking into greatness.”
The restructuring plan was not without its detractors. Fewer than 75% of landlords, one class of creditors, backed the proposal in an online vote ahead of the court hearing. Weaver acknowledged that in some cases, landlords may prefer to regain shop space before the end of leases, especially as some rent reductions could see payments fall to zero. Negotiations with landlords are set to begin shortly.
Despite the turbulence, the Lewis family, who founded and still control the business, have lined up £40 million in new funding to support the company’s transformation. River Island is also seeking £54 million in additional financing. The company forecasts a modest 1% annual growth rate for the next five years following the restructure, a cautious optimism in a retail landscape that remains fiercely competitive and unpredictable.
River Island’s journey from its beginnings as a small family business to a high street mainstay has seen it weather decades of change, but the current upheaval underscores the existential challenges facing traditional retailers. As the company embarks on this next chapter, all eyes will be on whether its transformation strategy can restore its fortunes—or whether, like so many of its former rivals, it will become another casualty of the digital age.
