70 Post Offices Inside TG Jones Stores to Close by Early 2027

By Grace Kim

Seventy post offices inside TG Jones stores — more than a third of the chain's 180 branches — have closed or will close by early 2027, according to Post Office records analysed by the Guardian. Union leaders warn the fallout will leave parts of Britain as "postal deserts."

How many branches are going?

The numbers stack up fast. So far this year, 36 post offices within TG Jones — the high street chain formerly known as WH Smith — have shut. Another 34 are set to close by early 2027.

The chain was bought and renamed by private equity group Modella last year. Before Modella's restructure won creditor approval in July, TG Jones operated 180 post offices, and it had been feared as many as 60 could close. The actual count has overrun that estimate.

The post office closures sit inside a bigger cull. Up to 150 of the 450 stores acquired by Modella are expected to shut; about 65 have already closed and at least another 46 will cease operating early next year. The 110 announced closures include the 70 that contain post offices.

The takeaway: this is a larger cull than creditors were briefed on in July.

Which towns lose out?

Stevenage in Hertfordshire, Bracknell in Berkshire and Orpington in Greater London, plus smaller cities including Hull and York, are each losing two post offices within months. Telford's last one closes in January.

Some regions are hit disproportionately hard:

• Essex: six post offices going, with Clacton-on-Sea and Brentwood shutting in January after closures in Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Harlow and East Ham
• West Midlands: five closing
• Wales: four closing

Suffolk and Hertfordshire are also flagged as hard-hit areas. Most of the lost sites had replaced former crown post offices — the now almost entirely closed network of more than 100 directly operated large branches that offered a full suite of services, from identity and passport checks to driving licence and banking operations.

What does this mean for small businesses?

The economic stakes are concrete. The Post Office told a parliamentary inquiry into revitalising high streets that almost a third of small- and medium-sized businesses use their local branch at least once a week, and more than half use the network at least once a month. Many small businesses report that losing this access would threaten their viability within months.

After more than 6,800 bank branches closed across the UK, the Post Office "plays a critical role in protecting this essential service," the state-owned company said in evidence to the inquiry. Post office operators already run 250 banking hubs, combining services for several banking brands, across the UK.

The closures compound a wider squeeze. Morrisons announced in the summer that 52 post offices inside its Morrisons Daily convenience stores will close this year — some near TG Jones sites — as part of a plan to shut 100 loss-making small stores.

Can the branches be replaced?

Slowly, if at all. The Post Office says it's hunting for new operators, but only Stirling has reopened after a TG Jones closure so far. A permanent replacement for Ipswich opens in November. Temporary branches will operate in Maidenhead and Uxbridge.

Mole Meade, a senior member at the CWU, the largest union for postal workers, said the closures would leave some areas as "postal deserts." He added: "What we are seeing with the TG Jones closures is the continuation of a long-term strategy of cutting costs and chasing profit, with little regard for the communities that depend on post office services. The CWU believes the Post Office should be focused on protecting and expanding access to services, not presiding over a continued reduction of the network."

The Post Office pushed back. "We fully recognise the challenging trading conditions that TG Jones and many other high street retailers are facing at the moment," it said in a statement. "There is interest in taking on every location where it has been confirmed that a post office within a TG Jones store will close. In some locations there are over 40 applications from our postmasters who recognise the significant footfall operating a post office brings to their store … We're committed to replacing every branch within a TG Jones store that closes and are working to progress applications as quickly as possible."

The context is bruising. The state-owned Post Office — still reeling from the Horizon IT scandal — announced the closure of more than 100 branches in late 2024. WH Smith's travel stores in railway stations, hospitals and airports were not part of the Modella deal and remain with the original stock market-listed parent. TG Jones was approached for comment.

Whether the promised replacements materialise before the early-2027 deadline will decide if towns like Telford go without a branch for months — or for good.