Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to close a further 95 High Street branches, as the UK’s largest banking group continues to scale back its physical network in response to falling in-branch usage.

The closures will affect 53 Lloyds Bank sites, 31 Halifax branches and 11 Bank of Scotland locations between May this year and March 2027.

The latest move comes in addition to an existing programme that will see 49 branches close by October. Once all announced closures are complete, Lloyds Banking Group will operate 610 branches nationwide.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Customers want the freedom to bank in the way that works for them, and we offer more choice and ways to manage money than ever before.” The bank said more than 21 million customers now use its mobile app as their primary method of banking.

The decision reflects a wider industry trend, as digital banking adoption accelerates and footfall in physical branches declines. Increasing numbers of services, from account management to mortgage consultations, are now offered online or remotely.

The announcement follows a similar move by Santander UK, which recently confirmed it would close 44 more branches, putting nearly 300 jobs at risk.

In contrast, the UK’s largest building society, Nationwide Building Society, has pledged to keep all 696 of its branches open until at least 2030, although it has reduced its estate in the past.

Banking hubs, shared spaces where multiple banks provide in-person services, are being rolled out in some areas, but the pace of openings remains slower than the rate of branch closures.

The closures span towns and cities across England, Wales and Scotland, including sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Swansea, among others.

Critics of branch closures argue that vulnerable and elderly customers risk being excluded as services move online. Banks, however, maintain that they are adapting to customer demand and investing heavily in digital infrastructure.

With more than 21 million customers now primarily banking via smartphone, Lloyds’ latest decision underscores the structural shift reshaping the UK’s retail banking landscape, and the continuing retreat of traditional High Street branches.

Full list of closures

Lloyds Bank – Aberdare
Lloyds Bank – Altrincham
Lloyds Bank – Birkenhead
Lloyds Bank – Birmingham, Blackheath
Lloyds Bank – Birmingham, Bordesley Green
Lloyds Bank – Birmingham, Highters Heath
Lloyds Bank – Birmingham, Upper Kingstanding
Lloyds Bank – Bournemouth
Lloyds Bank – Bristol, Fishponds
Lloyds Bank – Cardiff, Victoria Park
Lloyds Bank – City of London, Cheapside
Lloyds Bank – Clevedon
Lloyds Bank – Coalville
Lloyds Bank – Crowborough
Lloyds Bank – Daventry
Lloyds Bank – Didcot
Lloyds Bank – Ebbw vale
Lloyds Bank – Golders Green
Lloyds Bank – Heswall
Lloyds Bank – Hinckley
Lloyds Bank – Hoddesdon
Lloyds Bank – Honiton
Lloyds Bank – Horncastle
Lloyds Bank – Hull, Hessle Road
Lloyds Bank – Hull, Ings Road
Lloyds Bank – Kingswinford
Lloyds Bank – Lancaster
Lloyds Bank – Llangefni
Lloyds Bank – London, Camberwell
Lloyds Bank – London, Fitzrovia
Lloyds Bank – London, London Bridge
Lloyds Bank – London, Streatham
Lloyds Bank – London, Victoria
Lloyds Bank – London, West End
Lloyds Bank – Lymington
Lloyds Bank – Moreton-in-Marsh
Lloyds Bank – Newmarket (Suffolk)
Lloyds Bank – Norwich, Aylsham Road
Lloyds Bank – Reading, Woodley
Lloyds Bank – Redhill
Lloyds Bank – Ringwood
Lloyds Bank – Sevenoaks
Lloyds Bank – Southam
Lloyds Bank – Staines-upon-Thames
Lloyds Bank – Stoke-on-Trent, Longton
Lloyds Bank – Street (Somerset)
Lloyds Bank – Swansea, Winch Wen
Lloyds Bank – Tewkesbury
Lloyds Bank – Uttoxeter
Lloyds Bank – Wareham
Lloyds Bank – Wednesbury
Lloyds Bank – West Byfleet
Lloyds Bank – Wolverhampton, Tettenhall
Halifax – Ashington
Halifax – Ashton-under-Lyne
Halifax – Billingham
Halifax – Bognor Regis
Halifax – Bridgend
Halifax – Cardiff, Roath
Halifax – Chichester
Halifax – Chorley
Halifax – Croydon
Halifax – Cwmbran
Halifax – Doncaster, Armthorpe
Halifax – Ellesmere Port
Halifax – Goole
Halifax – Greenford
Halifax – Halesowen
Halifax – Horsham
Halifax – Leeds, Bramley
Halifax – Liverpool, Hunts Cross Shopping Park
Halifax – London, Hammersmith
Halifax – London, Pentonville
Halifax – London, Surrey Docks
Halifax – Manchester, Didsbury
Halifax – Mexborough
Halifax – Nottingham, Beeston
Halifax – Nottingham, West Bridgford
Halifax – Shipley
Halifax – Skelmersdale
Halifax – Southgate
Halifax – Sutton Coldfield
Halifax – Thornaby-on-Tees
Halifax – Torquay, Lymington Road
Bank of Scotland – Aberdeen, Bridge Of Don
Bank of Scotland – Balivanich
Bank of Scotland – Blairgowrie
Bank of Scotland – Broughty Ferry
Bank of Scotland – Glasgow, Baillieston
Bank of Scotland – Haddington
Bank of Scotland – Kelso
Bank of Scotland – Lochgilphead
Bank of Scotland – Penicuik, John Street
Bank of Scotland – Rutherglen
Bank of Scotland – Stonehaven

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Q4: 2026-02-11 Earnings Summary

EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.00

 | Revenue of $128.82M (18.13% Y/Y) beats by $2.75M

This article was written by

Kraft Heinz is pumping the brakes on plans to break up the company, with its new CEO saying the food giant’s challenges are “fixable and within our control” as it shifts focus toward reigniting profitable growth through a $600 million investment push.

In a note in the company’s routine fourth quarter report, CEO Steve Cahillane said that instead of splitting up, the company will double down on rebuilding growth — backing that up with a massive investment in the brand’s marketing, sales and research and development.

“When I decided to join Kraft Heinz, I knew that this was an exciting opportunity to contemporize iconic brands, better serve consumers and customers, and build meaningful shareholder value,” Cahillane said in the press release.

“Since joining the company, I have seen that the opportunity is larger than expected and that many of our challenges are fixable and within our control,” he continued. “My number one priority is returning the business to profitable growth, which will require ensuring all resources are fully focused on the execution of our operating plan.”

MCDONALD’S PLANS MASSIVE OVERHAUL WITH MAJOR CHANGES TO RESTAURANTS AND MENUS

“As a result, we believe it is prudent to pause work related to the separation and we will no longer incur related dis-synergies this year.”

Kraft Heinz announced in September that its board of directors approved a plan to split it into two independent, publicly traded companies through a tax-free spinoff. The aim was to create two more focused organizations with less complexity that would be able to maximize their brands and boost profitability.

Cahillane was slated to lead the business it is calling Global Taste Elevation, overseeing brands like Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other company, called North American Grocery, would oversee its portfolio of grocery staples like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables.

As of December, the official names of the new companies were not yet determined, and the company also had not announced who would lead its North American grocery business.

In the fourth-quarter report, Kraft Heinz also announced its commitment of $600 million to marketing, sales, research and development, product improvements and select pricing initiatives across 2026. Cahillane said Kraft’s strong balance sheet and $3.7 billion in free cash flow gives it the financial flexibility to fund this push while still generating excess cash.

“We are confident in the opportunity ahead and believe this investment will accelerate our return to profitable growth,” he said.

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While leadership is optimistic, Kraft’s 2025 numbers showed clear strain — full-year net sales were down 3.5% to $24.9 billion, organic sales were down 3.4%, volume was down 4.1%, and adjusted operating income was down 11.5%.

Kraft’s biggest pressure points were in coffee, cold cuts, frozen meals, bacon and select condiments, as inflation in commodity and manufacturing costs outpaced efficiency efforts. The company reported an operating loss of $4.7 billion last year, largely driven by “non-cash impairment charges.”

READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS

FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.

Paramount has enhanced its

hostile offer to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery

WBD

0.68%

increase; green up pointing triangle, including agreeing to pay the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner would owe its chosen suitor, Netflix

NFLX -3.15%

decrease; red down pointing triangle, should that deal collapse.

In a regulatory filing, Paramount also said it was adding a “ticking fee” of 25 cents per share, which it would pay to Warner shareholders for each quarter its deal hasn’t closed, starting in January 2027.

Indian IT stocks have felt pressure recently as global developments in artificial intelligence spark fresh concerns among investors. News of China ramping up its AI innovation, coupled with new product launches from international AI platforms, has triggered a wave of sentiment-driven selling in the sector.

Speaking to ET Now, Sushovan Nayak from Anand Rathi highlighted the broader context behind this market reaction. “So, basically as you would be aware, Anthropic coming up with its [product] after that there was this Altruist, which was a [platform] which basically also got released and then the China bit which you are mentioning. So these will have a sentimental negative impact on Indian IT,” he said.

Nayak added that while these developments could create short-term pain, the long-term fundamentals of Indian IT remain strong. “The question is, if you look at, let us say, an OpenAI or an Anthropic, both of them are planning to go public. So, they will come up with these plug-ins almost at regular intervals. Each time they come up with that it will be another death knell on Indian IT, but I believe that this is going to be much more resilient. But there will be some short-term pain, which obviously we are going through, so that is what my limited submission is.”

He emphasized the continuing importance of implementation and customization of software, where Indian IT firms maintain a competitive edge. “At the end of the day, you need to implement and customise those softwares. So that is where Indian IT comes through. And with those hyperscalers putting in the amount of capex—like earlier in 2025 it was almost $400 billion for the top four, now coming to $600 billion—at the end of the day you need to have cloud transformation, data governance, data cleaning, and all of that stuff, where you end up becoming implementation partners for either a Databricks or a Snowflakes, who will [require] significant amount of work,” he noted.

When asked about valuations, Nayak said he is cautiously optimistic. “I would want to see how these folks go about, like both OpenAI and Anthropic, because if they keep on releasing such disruptive models every alternate day, then we become sentimentally negative. Obviously, I would gradually increase my buying in these, but I would possibly start looking at them for sure. I mean, Infosys has obviously been top pickers and will continue to be—it is such that these are disruptive times, so yes, that is a way I will look at it.”

Regarding opportunities in the market, Nayak expressed confidence in large-cap IT stocks. “As I had also mentioned earlier, we basically are still positive on large-cap IT, and I completely understand that there is legacy IT work that is also there which will potentially get disrupted. But the ones within the large-caps which are most adaptable or are leveraging on their gen AI tools to a larger extent, someone like an Infosys, someone like an LTIM or an HCL Tech, these are the ones which we like,” he said.
He further highlighted HCL Tech’s ER&D exposure as a source of resilience. “HCL Tech, because of the ER&D exposure, because 75% of their business is services and the other 25%—that is 15% ER&D, 10% would be around HCL Software—I think that would be a little more resilient in all of this. But as I said, this is more of sentimental things rather than creating a very structural decline in all of them, that is what at least my view is, but stand corrected on this.”Despite the current nervousness, experts suggest that Indian IT’s structural strengths and ability to partner in global AI and cloud initiatives should help the sector navigate these uncertain times.