It’s bad enough to hear today that Mothercare will be closing 111 of their shops in the UK without also hearing today that JD Sports have closed 81 Blacks stores since the start of the year.

JD, who bought Blacks in January 2012, decided to close these stores as they were all losing money. Weak consumer spending and high property costs have contributed to these closures and I wouldn’t be surprised if more are on their way.

Again, property owners will suffer as a result of this and the high street retail property market will see values decline even further causing more nervousness amongst investors who will continue to steer clear of buying shops.