TGJones has launched a closing-down sale at its store in Croydon’s Whitgift Centre, dealing another blow to the struggling shopping centre.
Closing-down signs have appeared in the windows of the branch, which trades under the TGJones name following the rebrand of the WHSmith high street business, as staff begin clearing stock.
No date has been confirmed for when the store will shut its doors for the final time.
Key details
- What: Closing-down sale at TGJones, Whitgift Centre
- Where: North End, Croydon
- The chain: TGJones, the rebranded WHSmith high street business
- Closing date: Not confirmed
- Empty units: 93 counted across the Whitgift Centre in August
A centre hollowing out
The Whitgift Centre sits on North End, Croydon’s main shopping street, and for decades it was the borough’s retail heart, drawing shoppers from across south London. Today it is hollowing out.
A count in August found 93 vacant units across the centre. That is roughly double the 46 empty units recorded in September 2024, and up from 52 in May 2025 and 73 by October 2025. The speed of the decline is stark: in less than two years, the number of empty units has doubled.
The departures of recent months read like a casualty list for the British high street. Flying Tiger, Claire’s, Holland & Barrett, Superdry, the Body Shop, Rebel Fashion World and Swarovski have all closed or left the centre.
Each closure leaves another shuttered frontage on the malls and arcades that thread through the Whitgift Centre, and fewer reasons for shoppers to make the trip into central Croydon.
From WHSmith to TGJones
TGJones is the new identity of the WHSmith high street chain, which was sold off and renamed. The familiar green branding has been replaced by the TGJones name on high streets across the country.
Booksellers and stationers have been among the hardest hit by the shift to online shopping, and the loss of another town-centre branch will be felt by shoppers who still rely on the high street for books, stationery and everyday essentials.
The closing-down sale is expected to draw bargain hunters in the coming days, but for many regulars the news will land as another sign of the centre’s decline rather than a cause for celebration.
The bigger picture: a £31.5m deal and thousands of homes
The centre’s slow decline is unfolding against the backdrop of long-promised regeneration. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), the retail property giant, has drawn up plans to redevelop the Whitgift Centre site with between 3,000 and 4,000 new homes, alongside shops, leisure and public space.
In July, URW bought the Whitgift Centre freehold from the John Whitgift Foundation for £31.5 million, taking full ownership of the site. The deal removed a major obstacle that had stalled earlier regeneration attempts and cleared the way for the scheme to move forward.
But large-scale redevelopment takes years to deliver, and in the meantime traders and shoppers are left with a centre that feels increasingly empty. The question hanging over North End is how many more familiar names will follow TGJones out of the door before the builders arrive.
What happens next
TGJones has not said when the Whitgift Centre branch will close, and it is unclear whether staff will be offered roles at other stores. Shoppers hoping for a bargain will find discounts in store while stock lasts.
For the Whitgift Centre, the TGJones sale is the latest chapter in a difficult few years — and a reminder of how much is riding on the long-awaited redevelopment finally getting under way.
Croydon’s changing face
It has not all been bad news for the borough. A Croydon council estate in Coulsdon was recently crowned Britain’s best new building at the 2026 Stirling Prize, while South Norwood has been winning praise as a neighbourhood that earns its day out.
