SWANSEA: M&S blacked out ‘like it was in mourning’ as Oxford Street store closes after 69 years

The flagship Marks & Spencer in Swansea city centre has closed its doors for the final time, ending almost seven decades on Oxford Street.

The store served its last customers on Saturday, 30 May, bringing to a close what shoppers marked as 69 years in the heart of the city.

Within a day, the M&S signage had been taken down and the windows and doors blacked out, the frontage carrying only a “We’re now closed” notice.

Among those marking the moment was the actress Caroline Berry, who documented the closure and its aftermath.

Berry is a familiar face from Welsh and British television, with a career stretching back more than three decades. Her recent credits include the BBC dramas The Way and Steeltown Murders, the acclaimed Channel 4 series It’s a Sin and The Pembrokeshire Murders, and she is due to appear in an episode of Silent Witness this year. Her earlier work includes long-running roles in Coronation Street and Mayday.

Reflecting on the final day, she wrote that it was the end of an era, having shopped at the store through every decade of her life — “from my junior school dresses to flowers and food, bedding, homeware and clothing.”

Returning the next morning to find the branding already gone, she described the speed of it, saying the blacked-out store looked “like it was in mourning.”

She added that the sudden expanse of black drew attention to just how large the store was, and what a loss it represented for the city.

The closure was confirmed in February, when M&S said the decision followed prolonged underperformance. Around 92 people were employed at the store at that time.

On its final day, staff gathered for a farewell photograph, raising a toast to the store’s history.

In a message to customers, the M&S Swansea team thanked the city for its loyalty “over the years,” saying it had been “a privilege to serve you.”

The company pointed shoppers to its nearby stores that remain open — the Simply Food branches on Pontarddulais Road and in Mumbles, and the larger Parc Trostre store in Llanelli, which offers food, clothing and home collections.

For many in the city, the loss runs deeper than convenience. Former employees, some with decades of service behind them, shared memories of careers that began with Saturday jobs and stretched across 40 years or more.

Others spoke of the practical blow: shoppers who cannot drive and have no quick bus route to Trostre, and regulars who will miss the café as much as the shop floor.

The mood echoed a wider unease about the city centre, coming after the loss of other long-standing names and with the future of several large units still unresolved.

A spokesman for Swansea Council said it was disappointed by the decision but was continuing to work with M&S to find a new site in the city.

The former Debenhams unit had been suggested as a possible new home, but the council leader, Rob Stewart, has said M&S rejected the idea.

M&S has said it remains committed to serving Swansea customers through its nearby stores and online, and is working with the council and other partners to explore a future presence in the city.

For now, the blacked-out windows on Oxford Street stand as a stark marker of a name that had been part of Swansea life since the 1950s.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

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SWANSEA: New arrivals, fresh casualties — and the tenants tipped to fill the former Debenhams as Centurion’s big reveal nears

The biggest single retail announcement Swansea has seen for at least a decade is now days away. Centurion Group, which bought the former Debenhams building from the council at the start of May, has confirmed it has three major tenants lined up — two national retailers and a national sports and leisure operator.

The names remain officially under wraps. But the speculation has not stopped, the rumour mill has not slowed, and with Marks and Spencer’s Oxford Street store closing for the last time on 30 May, the Swansea retail picture is shifting week by week.

So with the big Centurion announcement imminent, we thought it was time to take stock. Last summer we ran a major feature on the future of retail in the city, canvassing the brands readers most wanted to see. Ten months on, where do things actually stand?

The wins — names that actually came

Several of the brands readers told us they wanted in Swansea have arrived since the feature went out.

Boyes, the family-run department store, had told us last summer it had “no confirmed plans” but was “actively exploring new locations.” In December 2025, Boyes and Skechers opened on the same day — Boyes taking over the former Wilko unit on Singleton Street, Skechers opening in the Quadrant. Two confirmed wishlist arrivals on a single morning.

In the Quadrant itself, Centurion’s stewardship has delivered two further significant additions. Holland and Barrett opened a new flagship in September 2025, more than three times the size of its previous unit. The same month, Rituals — the Dutch wellness brand — opened its first Swansea store in the centre. Clogau also tripled the size of its existing Quadrant store.

And in April this year Sostrene Grene, the Danish lifestyle brand, confirmed it would open in the former Zara unit on Princess Way, taking on a large vacant space that had been empty since Zara departed at the end of 2024.

Five named arrivals in ten months. Not bad for a city centre many had written off.

Centurion’s track record

The reason for some of the confidence around the Debenhams announcement is that Centurion is no longer an unknown quantity in Swansea. The company has been steadily transforming Parc Tawe — the retail park sitting close to the city centre at the foot of Castle Square — from a half-empty, dated space into a vibrant semi-out-of-town destination, served by its own car parking but also within easy walking distance of the city centre via the Castle area.

That track record matters. When Centurion took on the Quadrant, it brought in Holland and Barrett’s flagship, Rituals, Skechers and Clogau’s expansion. The Debenhams deal extends that pattern from leasing existing units to bringing a new anchor back into the city’s most prominent vacant building.

The losses — names under pressure

But the same period has also seen the picture darken in places. The biggest blow has been the confirmed closure of M&S — 69 years of Oxford Street history disappearing on 30 May, with 92 staff facing uncertainty. Council leader Rob Stewart has said the council is in active talks with M&S about a return to the city in a different format.

TGJones — the rebranded high-street WHSmith network — is in serious trouble. Multiple south-west Wales stores including the Swansea branch face fresh closure questions following revelations of bailiff threats, unpaid taxes, and a refusal by WH Smith to fund enhanced redundancy payments for affected staff. The Swansea store is one of several with an attached Post Office counter whose future has now been put under formal scrutiny.

River Island, confirmed in our 2025 feature as one of the city’s anchor fashion retailers, has been part of a national rescue plan that has put its Swansea store under pressure. The chain has been negotiating rent reductions and a programme of closures.

And Shoe Zone has confirmed it is closing stores across the UK — with the Swansea branch subject to review as the discount footwear chain reports its biggest losses in years.

The big question — what fills Debenhams

That brings us back to the question on every Swansea shopper’s lips: who is Centurion about to name?

The company has been clear that it has lined up three tenants — two retailers and a national sports and leisure operator. Rob Stewart’s “sports and leisure” framing rules out the more obvious pure-leisure operators like Lane7 or Boom Battle Bar and points instead towards something more activity-focused — operators in that space include the likes of TopGolf, Padel Up, Tenpin, Hollywood Bowl, or perhaps something more bespoke.

On the retail side, the names that have been circulating for some time include TK Maxx and H&M. Neither has been confirmed by Centurion. Neither has been confirmed by us. But both names have repeatedly been mentioned in conversations around the city, and both would fit the kind of large-format, footfall-driving anchor brand the building was designed to house.

If TK Maxx is one of the names, it would be a wishlist arrival — the discount fashion chain came up again and again in reader feedback last summer.

The H&M scenario is slightly different. H&M is already in Swansea, occupying a substantial unit on Oxford Street. A move to the former Debenhams would be a relocation rather than a new arrival — and it would leave another major hole on a street already due to lose M&S on 30 May. The implications for Oxford Street, if the H&M speculation proves correct, would be significant.

These remain rumours. Centurion will confirm — or deny — within days.

The M&S question that won’t go away

There is one further name worth flagging. M&S has been clear it would like to maintain a Swansea presence but needs the right footprint, the right adjacencies, and crucially direct access to parking. As it happens, the former Debenhams building sits directly adjacent to the Quadrant Shopping Centre — which Centurion also owns. The Quadrant car park has its own dedicated entrance directly into the back of the Debenhams unit.

That is unlikely to be relevant to the three names Centurion is about to announce. But it may well be relevant to what happens to the Quadrant in 12 or 18 months’ time — particularly given the council’s continued conversations with M&S about a return to the city.

What this all adds up to

Swansea retail in May 2026 is more dynamic than it has been in years. Five confirmed wishlist arrivals since last summer. A major Debenhams letting imminent. Several existing chains under pressure or actively closing. Continued investment from Centurion, Swansea Council and private operators.

The next ten days will tell us a great deal about what comes next.

Swansea Bay News will publish the Debenhams tenant names the moment they are confirmed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Swansea Debenhams building sold to Quadrant owners as three major new tenants set to be named within days
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Two big names, one big day: Skechers and Boyes land in Swansea
Two retailers from the wishlist arrived together in December 2025.

M&S store confirms May 30 closure date as council leader hints at Debenhams news
The end of a 69-year Oxford Street presence.

SWANSEA: Flagship M&S store confirms May 30 closure date – as council leader hints at Debenhams news

The flagship Marks and Spencer store on Oxford Street in Swansea city centre will close its doors for good on Saturday 30 May, the retail giant has confirmed – bringing an end to a 69-year presence at the heart of the city.

M&S announced earlier this year that its Swansea city centre store had been underperforming for a prolonged period, and that the closure formed part of a wider programme to reshape its store estate. Around 92 members of staff were employed at the store when the decision was confirmed in February.

A spokesperson for M&S said: “Our M&S Swansea city centre store will close on Saturday, May 30. As previously announced, this decision forms part of our plans to reshape our store estate so we can invest in stores that better meet the needs of our customers. We remain committed to serving customers in Swansea through our nearby stores and online, and are working closely with Swansea Council and other local partners to explore opportunities for a future M&S presence in the city.”

The confirmation of a closing date will prompt renewed concern about the future of high street retail in Swansea, given the scale and prominence of the Oxford Street store. M&S has occupied a substantial footprint in the city centre for decades, and its loss leaves a significant gap at one of the busiest retail locations in south Wales.

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart said the closure was hugely disappointing, and expressed frustration that a replacement site had not yet been secured before the shutters come down. “Hugely disappointing to see M&S press ahead with closure of this store before a new location within Swansea has been secured,” he said on social media.

Stewart added that the ideal outcome would have been a seamless transition for both staff and customers. “The ideal outcome, short of the current store remaining open, would have been having a new store open that staff and customers can move to, without a gap in trade or employment,” he said. “We will continue to work with M&S to secure a new location in Swansea, as close to the city centre as possible.”

A spokesperson for Swansea Council said the authority was continuing to work with M&S to find a new site. “We are disappointed that M&S has decided to close its store at the end of May. However, we are continuing to work with M&S to find a new site for them in the city.”

Rob Stewart’s post also contained a notable tease for shoppers concerned about the future of the city centre – hinting that a significant announcement about the former Debenhams building is expected imminently. “On a more positive note expect news on Debenhams tomorrow!” he wrote.

The former Debenhams store has been the subject of ongoing redevelopment since the department store chain collapsed. Swansea Council purchased the building and has been working to bring new tenants in, with three businesses previously announced as part of the revamp.

Work to prepare the building for its new occupants began in earnest last year, with dramatic internal transformation photos showing the scale of the changes underway.

The closure has been the subject of intense political debate in Swansea since February, with MP Torsten Bell demanding staff support and a replacement store, and politicians clashing over the council’s city centre strategy in the weeks that followed.

Council Leader, Rob Stewart has since announced the sale of the former Debenhams building in the Quadrant to Centurion, with three major new tenants set to be named within days. Read the full story here.

The M&S store on Oxford Street remains open until 30 May.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

M&S to close 69-year-old Swansea store in huge shock to council
Our original report on the closure announcement in February.

M&S fightback: MP Torsten Bell demands staff support and new store for Swansea
Political pressure mounts after the closure bombshell.

Politicians demand action as M&S closure sparks row over council vanity projects
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Inside Swansea’s old Debenhams: photos show dramatic transformation as revamp gathers pace
Watch for our Debenhams update – expected imminently.

LLANELLI: Habitual shoplifter jailed after six M&S raids in a month – as Trostre retail crime problem laid bare

A habitual shoplifter from Llanelli has been jailed for 10 weeks after carrying out six offences at a Marks and Spencer store within the space of a single month, in a case that Dyfed Powys Police say demonstrates that repeat offenders can face a custodial sentence.

Bradley Pugh, aged 18, targeted the M&S store at Trostre Retail Park in Llanelli on multiple occasions before shop staff recognised him and alerted police. He was arrested on 22 April after being spotted by staff, with his identity confirmed by officers reviewing CCTV footage.

Pugh was charged and remanded in custody on the same day as his arrest. He appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court the following morning, on 23 April, where he admitted all six offences. He was jailed and ordered to pay back a compensation fee of £795.25.

Sergeant Tom Grace, of the Llanelli Neighbourhood Team, praised both his officers and M&S staff for their role in bringing the case to a swift conclusion. He said: “The public can feel rightly frustrated with shoplifting incidents. Pugh’s sentence shows that repeated offences can meet a threshold for a jail term.”

He added: “I would like to pay tribute to our team here in Llanelli, who worked hard to track down and arrest Pugh, before a swift but thorough investigation ensured he was quickly brought before a court. I’d also like to thank the members of staff at Marks and Spencer — they’ve been instrumental in working with us to bolster the store’s defences against retail crime.”

The jailing comes against a backdrop of persistent retail crime problems at Trostre. Earlier this year, police were granted special dispersal powers at Parc Trostre and Parc Pemberton after a surge in antisocial behaviour around major stores and fast-food outlets including Tesco, Morrisons and McDonald’s. Shoppers at the time described frightening scenes, with groups causing disruption inside stores and abuse being hurled at security staff.

A spokesperson said at the time: “We will not tolerate behaviour that impacts businesses, staff or members of the public.”

The issue of abuse directed at retail workers across Llanelli has also been the subject of a major campaign. A Usdaw survey found that 71% of retail staff had experienced verbal abuse in the past year, 48% had been threatened, and 9% had been assaulted — with the Freedom from Fear campaign bringing politicians including Dame Nia Griffith MP and Lee Waters MS to Tesco Trostre to highlight the problem.

Dame Nia Griffith has pointed to the Labour government’s Crime and Policing Bill, which removes the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifting and introduces a new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker. The Bill also gives courts new powers to ban repeat offenders from stores.

The wider context for retail crime in Llanelli is one of deep-rooted deprivation. The Tyisha area — which borders Trostre — was identified as the sixth most deprived neighbourhood in Wales for community safety, and the town has been earmarked for a £20m decade-long regeneration drive targeting crime, empty units and a lack of community facilities.

Anyone who has witnessed or become aware of shoplifting offences is asked to report it to Dyfed Powys Police by calling 101 or reporting online. In an emergency, always call 999.

Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

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It feels like the Hot Cross Bun season is winding down.

Hot Cross Bun 的季節接近尾聲，好像是。

#推特吃 #twiteat #marksandspencer #mandsfood

The Invisible Shift

A street cleaner with a bin bag in one hand, framed between a STOP sign and a no-right-turn sign. You couldn’t stage it better. I shot this from Drawbridge Street, watching the lunchtime crowd flow past him like water around a rock. What struck me was the contrast: dozens of people mid-stride, shopping or wandering around, and this one figure doing the quiet work that keeps the city ticking over.

His orange hi-vis jacket is the loudest thing in the frame, but he’s mostly unnoticed by everyone. The young lad in the camo jacket is walking towards me, a woman in a black top is mid-step, and behind the railings there’s a whole parade of shoppers who have no idea they’re in a photograph. I like that the two road signs bookend him: STOP on one side, no-right-turn on the other as if the street itself is giving him contradictory instructions. It’s one of those shots where the composition just fell into place, and all I had to do was not fumble the shutter.

The Invisible Shift

A street cleaner with a bin bag in one hand, framed between a STOP sign and a no-right-turn sign. You couldn’t stage it better. I shot this from Drawbridge Street, watching the lunchtime crowd flow past him like water around a rock. What struck me was the contrast: dozens of...

https://inphotos.org/2026/04/01/the-invisible-shift/

#Candid #CityWorkers #Cork #HiVis #Ireland #MarksAndSpencer #pedestrians #Photo #Photography #StreetCleaner #StreetPhotography #UrbanLife

M&S FIGHTBACK: MP Torsten Bell demands staff support and new store for Swansea after closure bombshell

The high-stakes meeting comes after the bombshell announcement that M&S will close its 69-year-old city centre store as part of a national strategy, a move that sparked widespread dismay among shoppers and politicians alike, as Swansea Bay News previously reported in M&S to close 69-year-old Swansea store in huge shock to council and the subsequent political row over job losses.

Mr Bell wasted no time in confronting regional and national M&S figures, making it clear that the closure of such a long-standing fixture in Swansea was “deeply disappointing.”

“This is a company that has been a major part of life in Swansea for decades,” Mr Bell stated, reflecting the sentiment of hundreds of residents who have already signed a grassroots petition against the closure.

The MP focused on two critical issues during the talks, which took place today.

His immediate priority was to ensure M&S does “everything they can to support the 92 local staff who may be affected,” including those who wish to transfer into other roles within the company.

Crucially, Mr Bell also “strongly urged” the retail giant to work hand-in-hand with Swansea Council to identify a suitable new site, ensuring M&S maintains a vital presence in the heart of the city.

“I am glad to say they are open to” finding a new site, Mr Bell confirmed, offering a glimmer of hope for the future of M&S in Swansea.

The closure has ignited a fierce debate about the future of Swansea city centre, with politicians demanding action and a row erupting over council “vanity projects,” as covered by Swansea Bay News in Politicians demand action as M&S closure sparks row over council ‘vanity projects’.

Mr Bell used the opportunity to “double down on our efforts to regenerate the city centre,” highlighting the progress already made with the opening of Y Storfa, the regeneration of the Palace Theatre, and the success of the Arena.

He also noted that work to renew Castle Gardens is underway, painting a picture of a city centre in transition.

A “personal priority” for the MP is securing the funds to ensure the Civic Centre has a new lease of life, as the city focuses on “building our city centre’s future, as well as remembering its past.”

The M&S closure is part of a wider national strategy by the company to shut a quarter of all its larger format stores across the UK, a development Swansea Bay News reported in Marks and Spencer announce they will close a quarter of all larger format stores.

M&S ROW: Council leader accuses Senedd candidate of using job losses for ‘deplorable’ election campaign

Swansea Council Leader Rob Stewart has hit back at political opponents over the closure of the city’s M&S store, calling it “deplorable” that a Senedd candidate is using the potential loss of 90 local jobs for his election campaign.

The blistering attack comes in response to criticism from Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate Sam Bennett and Swansea Lib Dem leader Cllr Chris Holley, who yesterday questioned the council’s regeneration priorities in the wake of the M&S closure announcement.

In a statement, the Labour leader launched a full-throated defence of his administration’s record while attacking the previous Liberal Democrat-led council.

“It’s deplorable that Cllr Sam Bennett is using the closure of the store with the potential loss of 90 local jobs to try and further his Senedd election campaign,” Cllr Stewart said.

The attack is politically charged, as both men are candidates in the new Gŵyr Abertawe Senedd constituency for the 2026 election. Cllr Stewart is ranked second on the Welsh Labour list, while Cllr Bennett is the lead candidate for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

He also criticised his Lib Dem counterpart, stating, “It’s also disappointing to see Cllr Holley doesn’t have confidence in Swansea, or its traders and businesses.”

Cllr Stewart claimed his opponents “have not openly supported any of the developments in Swansea delivered over the last 11 years” and are “critics of the £1.3bn city deal.”

He also revealed that M&S has not given up on the city, stating, “M&S are actively looking for a different location in Swansea and have acknowledged the positive impact the regeneration is having.”

He then turned his fire on the record of the previous Liberal Democrat administration, which was led by Cllr Holley for much of its tenure, and controlled Swansea Council from 2004-2012.

“The Lib Dems introduced the disastrous bendy bus, continually dug up the Kingsway and introduced the mad road system, and absolutely failed to invest and support local businesses to grow,” he said.

“They have no ambition for Swansea.”