The ongoing cost of living crisis makes it harder than ever for businesses to stay alive, and Southampton lost several in 2024, including a 68-year-old independent furniture shop.

Hospitality venues, cafes and restaurants were also hit hard, with a handful inside Westquay shopping centre being forced to close.

National liquidations hit Southampton too as a carpet store was closed in Hedge End.

Many will be missed, but seven in particular were shops we loved and lost last year.

TGI Fridays

TGI Fridays inside Westquay South.TGI Fridays inside Westquay South. (Image: Chris Moorhouse) The TGI Fridays restaurant in Westquay South was one of 35 across the country to close on October 7.

The American-themed chain fell into administration in September, causing more than 1,000 redundancies in the UK.

READ MORE: TGI Fridays closes in Westquay South, Southampton

But after new owners swooped in at the last second, a rescue deal was arranged that saw the saviour of the TGI chain in Westquay Retail Park.

Unfortunately, the branch inside the shopping centre did not survive, closing with no prior notice on October 7.

Jack Wills

At the very start of the year, the Jack Wills shop inside Westquay shut down on January 6, 2024.

The fashion chain pulled the plug on several high street stores in 2023 after being bought out by Sports Direct in August 2019.

A closing down sale marked the departure of the Southampton store, as discounts of 20 per cent were offered.

High end beauty brand Space NK replaced Jack Wills in Westquay.

Carpetright

Carpetright on Nursling Industrial Estate.Carpetright on Nursling Industrial Estate. (Image: NQ, Jose Ramos) Carpetright stores across the country closed as the retailer entered administration in July.

The brand name was purchased by Tapi Carpets & Floor, who saved over 300 jobs by rebranding 58 stores.

READ MORE: Carpetright store in Southampton will close after administration

Hedge End’s Carpetright shop was successfully saved and rebranded, but shops in Nursling and Fareham were forced to close.

The company said it was “desperately sad” not to be able to save more of the business and customer orders but it said that saving every single store was “unviable.”

Peter Green

A note on the door at Peter Green said the shop would be shut until 'further notice.'A note on the door at Peter Green said the shop would be shut until 'further notice.' (Image: NQ) Peter Green, a popular furniture shop that was in business for 68 years, closed suddenly on May 27.

Shoppers turned up to School Lane in Chandler's Ford on the bank holiday to find a note in the front window that said the store would be closed until ‘further notice.’

The single-shop independent retailer then called in liquidators as a sale of the business could not be arranged.

Branding still remains on the old store, though the building is up for sale.

Black Axe Throwing Co

The axe-throwing venue in The Marlands shut down less than a year and a half after it opened.

Black Axe Throwing Co Southampton announced on September 5 that it closed its site, in what staff described as a “huge shock”.

It followed the sudden shutting down of their venue in Edinburgh, but the reason for the south coast closure remains unknown.

Black Axe first opened in The Marlands in April 2023 and was the chain’s fifth UK site.

Mettricks Woolston

Owner Spencer Bowman said the cafe was 'suffocated' by scaffolding.Owner Spencer Bowman said the cafe was 'suffocated' by scaffolding. (Image: Newsquest) Mettricks in Woolston closed December 23, leaving staff without a job over Christmas after serving coffee for more than seven years.

Owner and founder Spencer Bowman said that the last three months had been the hardest ever at the Centenary Quay site.

READ MORE: Coffee shop 'suffocated by scaffolding’ closes after 7 years

Losses had been subsidised by other Mettricks branches and Spencer said that customers thought the shop was closed due to scaffolding and fencing around the building.

Spencer said he had no other choice but to close after cladding works at the high-rise buildings ‘suffocated’ the café with scaffolding for over a year.

INJOY

The children’s indoor play park in Ocean Village suddenly closed on September 13 in which bosses called "incredibly difficult decision.”

Days after shutting, it was announced on Facebook that Injoy Southampton had entered liquidation.

The soft play area was a favourite with parents and children.

Owners said in a Facebook statement: “We want to take this moment to express our heartfelt thanks to our customers for their support over the years."

Opening on July 12, 2019 in a former cinema, the centre cost £3million to build and also featured restaurants and a bar for parents.