Four Shoe Zone stores deemed “unviable” are set to close in Kent - but eight will remain open.

Shops in Ashford, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Gillingham are among those across the UK shutting for good, a decision the company says is because of the government’s recent budget.

The group - which employs about 2,250 staff across 297 stores in the UK - said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s move to increase employers’ national insurance contributions and increase the minimum wage has led to “significant additional costs”.

“These additional costs have resulted in the planned closure of a number of stores that have now become unviable,” it said.

The exact closing date of each store is unknown, and it is not clear how many workers are affected.

Shops in Broadstairs, Dover, Maidstone, Chatham, Sittingbourne, Tonbridge, Gravesend and Dartford will remain open.

The group has already been closing loss-making stores over the past year, revealing in October that 26 sites had been shut on a net basis – 53 closed, less 27 opened – in the year to September 28.

Shoe Zone said it had also seen “very challenging trading conditions” since the end of September as shoppers have pulled back spending amid unseasonal weather, adding that consumer confidence had weakened further since the budget in October.

Shares plunged by as much as 49% on Wednesday morning as it cautioned that due to the tough trading and extra wage bill, annual profits would be lower than expected, while it also cancelled its final shareholder dividend payout for 2023 to 24.

It slashed guidance by up to half, warning that underlying pre-tax profits were now set to be not less than £5 million, down from £10 million previously expected for the year to September 27 next year.

The profit warning marks the second in as many months after it also lowered guidance in October for the year to September 28 2024, blaming poor summer weather for lower sales.

Shoe Zone said annual sales fell 2.7%, which it expected will leave 2023-24 profits at “not less than” £9.6 million against the £16.2 million reported the previous year.