HMV is preparing to close its Oxford Street flagship only three years after reopening it, arguing that sharply higher occupancy costs have outweighed otherwise strong trading at the entertainment retailer.

The company says it will leave 363 Oxford Street in March after landlords proposed doubling the rent and it faced a further bill for substantial renovation work. Together, HMV said, those costs would make the site “commercially unsustainable.”¹

That explanation contrasts with the retailer’s wider commercial picture. HMV said like-for-like sales across the group rose 15% in the first nine months of 2026, while combined store and online revenue is expected to exceed £240 million this year, compared with £212 million in 2025. It operates 123 UK stores and says it remains committed to physical high-street retail.²

For HMV, then, the decision is presented as a problem specific to the Oxford Street premises rather than a retreat from London or from shops generally. Managing director Phil Halliday called the store “a special store” and said its 2023 return had been “a big moment in our recent history.”¹ The branch first opened in 1921 and had been absent for four years after HMV’s 2019 administration.

Halliday nevertheless described its position as “frustrating” because it had become commercially unviable, while stressing that the business was looking ahead to its plans for 2027.² HMV says it is actively seeking another flagship location in the West End and intends to retain a significant presence in the capital.

The company has said affected employees will be offered opportunities at its two other London stores and at its head office where possible. That pledge does not remove the disruption created by the closure, but it underlines HMV’s argument that the move reflects a dispute between a successful retailer’s ambitions and the cost of one landmark site.