The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has announced plans to close approximately 150 of its charity shops and cut jobs, citing rising costs and a shift to online shopping that have made about a quarter of its high street locations commercially unsustainable.
The charity conducted a review of its retail arm, which employs nearly 3,700 staff, after net profit across its 640 UK stores fell sharply from £18.8 million in 2024 to £3.6 million in the year to 31 March 2025. BHF chief executive Charmaine Griffiths said the organisation faces an 'exceptionally challenging trading environment' and acknowledged the difficulty for staff and volunteers in affected stores.
BHF intends to close 90 stores by the end of March 2026 and the remaining 60 by March 2027. Job cuts are also planned in central functions supporting retail operations. The charity reported total income of £181 million in 2025, but net income after direct costs fell by nearly £9 million to £129.6 million.
Despite the closures, BHF said its overall financial position 'remains healthy', though the proportion of income allocated to charitable activities dropped from 77% to 72% last year. Griffiths emphasised that funding research into cardiovascular disease remains a priority, and the difficult step of closing shops is necessary to sustain retail's contribution to the charity's work.
