WHSmith, Post Office and The Entertainer at Luton Point will close in January

The Post Office and WHSmith stores, which share a unit, will both be shutting their doors on January 18 – and toy shop The Entertainer will be closing on January 25.

WHSmith says it is "disappointed" to be losing its presence in Luton, while The Entertainer is "sad to be closing".

Meanwhile, Post Office customers are advised to visit its Bury Park Post Office – although this is a 16 minute walk from the town centre.

Luton Point has emphaised that new business opportunities could be arising at the shopping centre.

A Luton Point spokeswoman, said: "We regret to confirm that The Entertainer and WHSmith are set to close their stores in the new year.

"Whilst we are saddened by The Entertainer’s decision to leave, we are pleased to have Toy Town on board to continue to offer children’s toys and games to meet the needs of shoppers.

"Additionally, we are actively engaged in discussions with potential operators for the Post Office and hope to share positive updates in the near future.

"Thank you for your continued support as we work to enhance the offerings at Luton Point."

A Post Office spokesman, said: "The operator for Luton Post Office, located at The Mall, has resigned and the branch is due to close at its current location on Saturday, January 18.

"The store where the Post Office is based is also closing.

“We know how important a Post Office is to a community and we’re looking at Post Office provision in the area.

"In the meantime, we encourage customers who specifically require our everyday banking services to consider using Bury Park Banking Hub which is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

"Customers can also visit Bury Park Post Office for all Post Office services, including banking, which is open Monday to Friday too.”

A WHSmith spokesman, said: “We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Luton will be closing on January 18.

"It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store. We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Luton and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.

"We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”

Head of region at The Entertainer, Nigel Overton, said: “We are sad to be closing our Luton store as of January 25 and would like to thank our customers and staff for their loyalty and support.

"We’re proud of the service we’ve offered and are committed to supporting our employees through this situation."