1 October 2025
Today we’re announcing a big change in our retail operations, one designed to ensure every pound we raise works harder for our life-saving research to beat cancer.
Retail has played a critical role in our mission – delivering over £225m in contribution over the last 10 years – but like many high street retailers, we’re faced with rising costs, inflationary pressures, and changing consumer habits — including reduced footfall, higher national insurance contributions, and growing competition from online resale platforms.
In response to the changing external and retail landscape, we’ve developed a new plan to reshape our retail operations so that we raise more money for life-saving cancer research and give customers, supporters, staff and volunteers a better experience.
Over the next two years, we will reduce the size of our core high street chain to around 320 high-performing shops. This means closing around 90 shops by May 2026, with up to 100 more by April 2027.
We will expand our network of out-of-town superstores, with 12 new stores set to open over the next two years.
We will close our online marketplace in early 2026, meaning we will no longer sell pre-loved items on external resale platforms.
We know this news will be difficult for many to hear – but it’s necessary to ensure we spend more on life-saving cancer research. By making these changes, we expect to increase our financial contribution to research by approximately £12.4 million over the next five years - enabling us to invest even more money in the research that saves lives.
Michelle Mitchell OBE, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said:
“I am deeply grateful to our dedicated supporters, volunteers and staff for their role and contribution in beating cancer together.
“Without action, we predict many of our shops will become unprofitable. A smaller, high-performing retail operation will mean we will fund more life-saving cancer research and better serve our customers, staff and volunteers.
“This news will be difficult. Our decisions have been taken after serious consideration. We’re committed to supporting everyone affected by these changes, and will provide clear information and support throughout the process.”
Cancer Research UK will continue to maintain a prominent presence on the high street. Our network of shops will remain a vital part of how we engage communities, raise funds, and support our mission.
We recently published our 2024/25 annual report and accounts, which show strong performance across our income generation activities — including fundraising, philanthropy and investments. We spent £403 million on new and ongoing research last year, £4 million more than the previous year, and we remain on track to exceed our commitment to spend at least £1.5 billion on research during the five-year period 2021/22 to 2025/26.
We look to the future with confidence and optimism, knowing that our work will continue to save and improve lives.
You can find the full list of shops that will be closing by May 2026 here(PDF, 76 KB).
