HMV is to close one of its Kent stores ahead of a second relocation in just three years.

The Canterbury branch of the music retailer will shut on Monday, March 24 - but it is currently unknown where or when the replacement store will open.

In a statement, bosses told shoppers to “stay tuned for updates on our new location and opening date”.

The company has run a store in Whitefriars shopping centre since 2022, filling a unit formerly occupied by Monsoon and Accessorize.

It had moved out of Marlowe Arcade earlier that year after more than two decades in the two-storey building.

The move reduced the chain’s footprint in the city from 6,000 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft.

Earlier this week, the company said it had put plans to expand in the UK on hold because of rising wage costs announced in last autumn’s budget that begin in April.

Managing director Phil Halliday told The Guardian how the company had initially hoped to open up to 10 more UK stores this year.

But he said those plans are now paused as it was “peddling pretty hard” to maintain profits despite strong sales growth.

He said it is instead looking to open stores in Ireland and Belgium.

In last year’s budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a 1.2% rise in National Insurance contributions from employers to 15%, pushing up the cost of employing workers.

HMV was saved from administration by Canadian company Sunrise Records in 2019 but unexpectedly shut several branches the following year due to "extortionate" business rates.

The chain, which now has four stores in Kent, had previously entered administration in 2013.

HMV’s former home in Marlowe Arcade was taken over by national furniture retailer The Cotswold Company.