Jollyes to begin opening new stores at former Poundland sites

Following its takeover by investment firm Gordon Brothers, Poundland announced plans to close 68 shops and two warehouses in the UK, putting 1,300 jobs at risk.

Poundland concluded its main store closure programme in September, shutting 57 stores, while placing 11 closures on hold.

At the beginning of the restructuring programme, there were around 800 Poundland stores located across the UK.

This number is expected to decrease to around 650 or 700 as leases expire or landlords exercise any option to serve notice.

UK high street shops that no longer exist

Full list of 30 Poundland stores scheduled to close

More Poundland store closures have taken place recently, with 23 shutting for good since the beginning of October:

• Twickenham (October 5)
• Westhoughton (October 5)
• Market Harborough (October 9)
• Lowestoft (October 10)
• Colne (October 11)
• Rochdale (October 13)
• Leicester (October 17)
• Tenby (October 18)
• Blackpool - Cherry Tree Retail Park (October 25)
• Deal (October 27)
• Thurrock (October 27)
• Walsall (October 29)
• Hailsham (November 2)
• Perry Barr (November 2)
• Matlock (November 2)
• Carlisle (November 9)
• Burnley (November 9)
• Witham (November 12)
• Sidcup (November 14)
• Loughborough (November 14)
• New Malden (November 16)
• Peckham (November 20)
• Dalston (November 24)

There are seven more Poundland closures scheduled for the coming months:

• Beeston (November 27)
• Launceston (November 29)
• Melton Mowbray (December 4)
• Droitwich (December 9)
• Hempstead Valley (December 31)
• Bexhill (January 5, 2026)
• Cameron Toll (January 20, 2026)

All these Poundland closures are due to leases expiring.

Full list of new Jollyes stores set to open in former Poundland sites

Jollyes already has more than 100 stores scattered across the UK, having almost doubled its numbers over the past three years.

Now, the pet retailer is set to open five new stores at former Poundland sites across the UK, starting this week.

These new stores (and their opening dates) are:

• Thurrock Shopping Park, Thurrock (November 28)
• Swinden Retail Park, Colne (November 29)
• St Nicholas Gate Retail Park, Carlisle (December 6)
• Princess Way Retail Park, Burnley (December 13)
• Cherry Tree Retail Park, Blackpool (January 24, 2026)

Jollyes has already opened three new stores recently in:

• Chesterfield (October 18)
• Swansea (November 15)
• Southend-on-Sea (November 22)

Jollyes’ chief operating officer and CEO designate, Adam Dury, said: "These are exciting times for us here at Jollyes, bringing our combination of low prices and pet expertise to so many new communities before Christmas.

"We’ve had a warm welcome from customers in Chesterfield, Swansea and Southend and can’t wait to now open our doors this week in the first of the former Poundland units we’ve secured."

Things to consider before adopting a pet

All the new Jollyes stores will offer frozen food, the retailer’s latest expanded range for cat owners, and a community pet clinic with a vaccination and microchip service from trained Royal College Vets.

It will also carry Jollyes' new extensive ‘pick and mix’ Natural Treats range, which includes sausages, lamb braid pigs’ ears and pork rolls.

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The store will be set up from day one to offer ‘Zoomies’, Jollyes’ new partnership with Uber Eats, which allows customers within a five-mile radius of each store to have pet food, frozen raw food and toys and accessories delivered in as little as 30 minutes via the Uber Eats app.

The openings at Thurrock, Colne, Carlisle and Burnley will also feature a special appearance by Santa Claus and his reindeer, with goody bags for the first 100 customers and an opportunity for all customers to play its iconic ‘wheel of fur-tune’ for instant prizes.

Alongside local mayors in Thurrock, Carlisle and Burnley, retired service dogs supported by Jollyes’ charity partner the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) will bite through a string of sausages to declare the store open.