Paddy Power is the latest high street business preparing to shut down multiple locations with hundreds of workers to be made redundant.
Store closures are ramping up across the UK as businesses struggle with hiked costs and consumers opt to shop online.
Nearly 250 employees face an uncertain future as Flutter Entertainment prepares to close 57 Paddy Power betting shops throughout Britain and Ireland.
The gambling giant will shutter 29 locations in the UK, including one in Northern Ireland, alongside 28 shops in the Republic of Ireland.
Paddy Power is closing multiple shops
|PA
Store closures will occur over the coming month, with 247 staff members facing potential redundancy. Of these, 128 positions will be lost in the UK.
Flutter revealed the decision to employees on Wednesday, following an assessment of its physical retail presence.
The move represents a significant reduction in Paddy Power's high street footprint.
Notably, the company attributed the decision to "increasing cost pressures and challenging market conditions" affecting the betting industry.
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Flutter stated that whilst employees would be provided with alternative positions where feasible, job losses would be unavoidable.
A Flutter UK and Ireland spokesman emphasised that physical shops continue to be an important element of their customer service, despite the closures.
"We are continually reviewing our high street estate, but it remains a key part of our offer to customers, and we are seeking to innovate and invest where we can as we adapt to different customer trends and needs," the spokesman said.
The Paddy Power closures emerge against a backdrop of widespread retail decline across Britain.
Specifically, the Centre for Retail Research predicts 17,349 shops will disappear from UK high streets during 2025, accompanied by approximately 202,000 job losses throughout the retail sector.
This represents a sharp acceleration from 2024, when 13,649 stores closed their doors. The projected figures suggest closures will surge by approximately 27 per cent year-on-year.
Small retailers face the harshest conditions, with independent shops comprising 83 per cent of all closures in 2024.
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Britain's high streets have been decimated by high street store closures | Wiki Commons images/ Mtaylor848While major chains accounted for just 2,307 shuttered stores, independent businesses lost 11,341 outlets, highlighting their particular vulnerability to economic pressures.
The betting sector faces broader challenges, with William Hill owner Evoke announcing it is evaluating "further shop closures" should additional tax burdens materialise in the UK.
Flutter cautioned that whilst Wednesday's announcement was not directly linked to fiscal uncertainty, potential gambling tax rises could severely affect employment and investment throughout the industry.
The spokesman warned: "While today's closures are not directly related to the uncertainty surrounding the Budget, a higher gambling tax could have a significant impact on jobs and investment across the industry and drive more customers into open arms of unlicensed operators on the illegal, black market."
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