Post Office to vanish from UK town high street as TG Jones forced to shut – last day June

A Post Office branch is set to disappear from a town centre in days as part of a major restructuring by TG Jones. Around 480 WHSmith stores were bought by private equity group Modella Capital last year to create TG Jones. The deal left WH Smith PLC free to continue its physical retail presence primarily through travel-focused stores in airports, railway stations, hospitals and motorway service areas.

The TG Jones rebrand came after WH Smith's high street stores struggled in recent years, with chiefs finally opting to offload them in June 2025, and concentrate on the more profitable parts of their business. TG Jones operates around 450 stores and around 180 Post Offices, located within branches. But a plan to put the chain on a more "sustainable" footing was announced last month after a period of tough trading, with around 150 stores set to close, less than a year Modella took the high street shops over.

A Modella spokesperson told BBC News at the time that no decisions had been taken on how any closures would affect jobs and that it was aiming to protect as many as possible, with discussions taking place with landlords to reduce rents.

However, eight locations were earmarked for closure when the announcement was made, including TG Jones' store in Ipswich, one of many branches that also has a Post Office within it.

It was previously confirmed that the branch was set to close on Saturday (June 6) after failing to agree "commercially viable terms" with the landlord of the site.

The Post Office within it will also close that day, following postmaster's resignation, the Ipswich star reports.

It means locals have just days left use the postal hub's services. A 70% sale is taking place ahead of the closure, as per the outlet.

The Post Office and TG Jones have been approached for comment.

TG Jones previously of the Ipswich closure: "We are working hard to support colleagues who will be affected by this. We'd like to thank the local community for their support, and customers can visit our website for home deliveries."

Following the announcement of the restructuring plans, a Post Office spokesperson said: “It’s regrettable that following the restructuring plan announcement by TG Jones on 7 May, a small number of Post Office branches inside TG Jones stores will close in the coming months,” the spokesperson said.

“We are working hard to find locations nearby to continue offering Post Office services. We have a longstanding partnership with TG Jones and we know that post offices drive significant footfall to the high street.”