Marks and Spencer announces plans to open new stores and boost jobs after £30m investment
Marks and Spencer's £30million investment will include the opening of two new food halls and the creation of 100 new jobs
GETTY
Marks and Spencer's £30million investment will include the opening of two new food halls and the creation of 100 new jobs.
The news will come as a relief for thousands of customers as many local stores will also get funding for expansion and modernisation.
The investment follows their announcement of one of their best financial results in almost three decades last week. The investment is expected to support an estimated 100 new jobs.
Profits for the year to March rose 58 per cent to £716m, a turnaround many years in the making.
Today the shop announced it will give a multi-million pound upgrade to 12 M&S stores in the capital and open two fresh-market style food halls in Sidcup and Friern Barnet.
The new foodhall in Sidcup is set to open on the June 19, with the one in Friern Barnet coming in August.
The 12 stores being modernised will see an upgrade in their bakeries, and Flower and Wine shops
MARKS AND SPENCERThe stores to be modernised include those in Islington, Chancery Lane, Teddington and Blackheath.
Sacha Berendji, operations director at M&S, said: “We cannot wait to bring the magic of M&S to even more customers across the capital.
"Expanding our presence in London is a key part of our growth strategy – our market share in food is higher here than any region in England and there is plenty of untapped potential.”
The 12 stores being modernised will see an upgrade in their bakeries, and Flower and Wine shops - all with the retailer’s signature renewal design and neon lighting.
There will also be an increase in their Click and Collect facilities as over half of M&S customers (63 per cent) collect their online orders in store.
M&S has over 80 stores across Greater London and in recent years, has invested over £20m in its London store estate.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin says the retailer’s financial health is “the best it has been in decades”.
In addition to the over £30million investment in its owned store estate, M&S is also expanding its convenience offer, delivered through its franchise model, enabling more customers to enjoy the M&S Food range on the go.
This April, a new convenience store launched in Queensway, while a Shaftesbury Avenue location is set to open in Summer.
In addition, over 15 M&S convenience stores in London will be renewed, including the Surbiton store and both Marylebone and Paddington stations.
The above openings are part of the retailer’s plans announced today in its full-year results to open up to four new full-line stores, nine new foodhalls and undertake around 25 store renewals across the UK over the course of the financial year.
A new store will open this week at the Galleries shopping centre in Washington, near Sunderland.
Customers will be able to visit the "bigger, better, fresher" branch at 9am on May 30.
It will open just a few doors down from the current Simply Food store at Galleries, which closes on May 29.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Several other locations were announced in M&S's full year results.
Among them is a new Foodhall at Guildford's Ladymead Retail Park in Surrey, opening on June 30.
Meanwhile Gallagher Retail Park in Dundee will open a new store in the summer but an exact date is yet to be confirmed.
Another Foodhall will open in Largs, Ayrshire, in 2025.