Marks and Spencer has announced details of six new store openings and plans to transform two more in a £50m investment. The new M&S openings are concentrated in the north west of England, with new and improved sites planned in Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.
A brand new full-line store is slated to open in New Mersey Retail Park in Speke, south Liverpool, subject to planning approval. It will replace the existing food hall on a new site and offer a wider range of M&S products across food, clothing, home and beauty. Meanwhile in Formby, an upgraded Food Hall will replace the current one, reports the Liverpool Echo.
In Cheshire, the full-line store in Gemini Retail Park in Warrington was the first to benefit from the investment, reopening after a major redesign last Thursday. A new clothing, home and beauty department has been added, and the Food Hall that opened last October has been expanded to offer the full M&S food range including a fresh produce section and larger in-store bakery.
A brand new M&S Outlet store is also planned just a few miles down the road and is expected to open towards the end of summer 2025.
In Lancashire, M&S plans to open a new Food Hall in Thornton-Cleveleys. Subject to planning approval, it will replace the existing store and triple its size. The retailer has also applied for permission to relocate its existing Blackburn store to the Frontier Park retail park.
In Greater Manchester, a major extension is planned for the Bolton full-line store at Middlebrook Retail Park. The Food Hall in Sale is also set for a redesign. The new and revamped stores join an estate of 62 owned stores across north west England and the retailer says the investment, spread across the next three financial years, will create more than 300 new jobs
Full list of new and improved M&S stores
- Speke, Liverpool – brand new full line store planned at New Mersey Retail Park
- Formby, Merseyside – new food hall planned
- Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire – new food hall planned
- Blackburn, Lancashire – new full line store planned at Frontier Park retail park
- Warrington, Cheshire – newly opened full line store at Gemini Retail Park
- Warrington, Cheshire – new M&S Outlet store planned to open summer 2025
- Bolton, Greater Manchester – major extension planned to full line store at Middlebrook Retail Park
- Sale, Greater Manchester – redesign of food hall planned
Will Smith, property director at M&S, stated: “As we reshape for growth, we want to open new stores we can be proud of and that deliver the best possible shopping experience for customers. Our pipeline of stores for 2025 demonstrates our continued investment in market-leading stores as we deliver our transformation priorities.
“We have the opportunity in the North west of England to continue investing in market-leading stores, as part of our renewal and rotation strategy, offering great quality products with that touch of M&S magic and the trusted value our customers expect and deserve.”
