Major retailer disappears from UK high street after closing all 137 stores

After falling into administration four months ago, it is the latest of a number of large retailers and businesses to have been struggling in the UK in recent times.

Poundland, River Island, Claire’s, and a number of travel agents have flirted with administration, been forced to restructure, or disappeared completely from the high street.

With discount chain store The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) entering administration at the start of the year, it has now completely disappeared from the high street.

As per The Mirror, the business has now closed all it’s shops as well as its head office.

The chain was bought by Modella Capital last year and was already on the brink of collapse when it was acquired by the group.

Its owner Modella said in January that tough trading conditions and “an alarming drop-off in pre-Christmas footfall’ meant administration was “the only option”.

The business employed around 1,200 people.

TOFS opened its first shop in the late 1960s and has around 130 stores nationwide.

A spokesperson said: “A phased closure of the store portfolio was implemented considering the financial position.

“Without any viable offers to take the business forward, it was not possible for The Original Factory Shop to continue trading and all remaining stores were closed on 4 April 2026.”

TOFS collapse comes after Claire’s, also owned by Modella, appointed administrators at the start of the year.

Claire’s appointed Kroll as administrators to its UK and Irish operations, a move which could put around 1,300 jobs at risk.

The retailer’s financial issues are reported to have come from a “combination of government policy, landlords’ demands to take back many of TOFS’ better sites and a poorly handled transition to a new logistics provider”, as per Sky News.

Modella also owns the high-street operations of well-known chain WH Smith’s, which have been rebranded to TG Jones, as well as Hobbycraft.