News
M&S to open six new food halls as part of £90m London store investment
22nd April 2025Marks & Spencer has said it will invest over £90m into its London store estate, opening six new food hall sites and 11 renewed stores across the capital. The retailer will open new food halls in Covent Garden, Leytonstone, Clapham Common, Putney, New Malden, and Fulham Broadway over the next few years, subject to planning permission. The new stores are set to add 70,000 sq ft of space to M&S’s London estate. In addition, 11 existing stores are set to reopen following new investment, including a food hall in Clapham South which reopened this week. The renewed store features a revamped produce section, larger ambient and frozen sections, and an upsized bakery. It has also been upgraded with new flooring, fridges, and additional tills. In addition, M&S will be renewing its stores in Brooklands, Islington, Brent Cross, Whetstone, Wimbledon, and Chiswick. Three further train station stores have been also been given a new look and reopened recently in Euston, St Pancras, and Charring Cross. The retailer is also planning to renew its full line Pantheon store on Oxford Street, as it looks to bring the store up to standard as part of its rotation and renewal programme. The renewal will […]
Deals
Angel Central welcomes Therapié Clinic following record-breaking first quarter
22nd April 2025Angel Central in Islington has welcomed health and beauty specialist Therapié Clinic, as the scheme celebrates a record-breaking first quarter. The brand has taken a 2,172 sq ft space at the centre, joining other health and wellbeing brands at Angel Central including Rituals, Holland & Barrett, L’Occitane, and Frame. With over 75 locations across the UK, Ireland, and the United States, Therapié Clinic provides services such as laser hair removal, cosmetic injections, and skin treatments. The new clinic is the brand’s first in Islington and takes Angel Central’s ground floor to full occupancy. This comes after a strong first quarter for the centre, with footfall up by a record-breaking 8.4% compared to the first quarters of 2024 and 2019. Sales were up by 12.4% year-on-year during the period, whilst like for-like sales increased by 4.4%. Simon Prince, senior associate at CBRE Investment Management, said: “Angel Central is continuing to perform at a high level. Visitor numbers are increasing, sales are exceeding previous years, and we have a fully let ground floor with brands excelling. Our strong performance is a testament to the solid relationship we foster with our brands and the community, and Therapié Clinic is a new and exciting […]
Requirements
Homewares retailer seeks high street locations for expansion
11th April 2025Homewares and lifestyle retailer Vinegar Hill is actively seeking new sites as it looks to expand. The independent retailer – which was established in 1997 and trades from 15 stores – offers homeware products, gifts, and clothing from local sources. Vinegar Hill currently has stores in Bath, Berkhamsted, Bishop’s Stortford, Cheltenham, Chichester, Farnham, Henley-on-Thames, Hitchin, Horsham, Marlborough, Shrewsbury, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Windsor, and Witney. The retailer is seeking units ranging between 1,000 sq ft and 2,000 sq ft in high street locations. Target locations include, but are not exclusive to: Esher; Exeter; Frome; Guildford; Haywards Heath; and Leamington Spa. Ewan Stacey and Archie Morriss of GCW have been appointed to find suitable locations.
Insights
The train station beauty boom
8th April 2025Beauty and wellness is booming. Network Rail teamed up with Mintel, a leading global market intelligence agency, to explore what the latest trends mean for station retailers. The health and beauty sector is growing in the UK and across Network Rail’s estate with store improvements, pop-ups, and new openings. Customers’ expectations are changing with an increased demand for information on everything from ingredients to ethical credentials. In 2024, British consumers spent an estimated £29 billion on beauty and grooming, up from £27 billion in 2023. The great news for station retailers is that over 90% of shoppers chose to buy products in-store. These nationwide trends, identified by experts at Mintel, reflect the findings of Network Rail’s own research. “Health and beauty experienced a strong sales increase across our estate of more than 10% in the three months to September 2024,” says Nick Gee, Network Rail category manager. “For 2025, we will focus on refining our offerings to align with and further drive this growing demand”, he adds. Taking a holistic approach to beauty Mintel found that a holistic approach to caring for hair, skin and nail health is an emerging trend, with 44% of British adults interested in taking […]
News
Chopstix opens two restaurants at shopping outlets
17th April 2025Chopstix is opening two new restaurants this month at McArthurGlen Designer Outlets in Bridgend, Wales, and South Normanton, Derbyshire. The openings follow multimillion pound refurbishments at the food courts of both shopping centre destinations. Chopstix’s Bridgend restaurant is now the largest within its estate, at just under 4,000 sq ft, and is the first to feature the brand’s new visual identity. This new concept will be implemented across all new Chopstix sites, while the brand has also started the process of identifying existing sites in its estate to undergo refurbishment. These openings are the latest step in a busy period of growth for Chopstix after an injection of investment from European quick-service operator QSRP last October. The arrivals of the Bridgend and South Normanton restaurants bring the total amount of site openings for Chopstix to four in 2025. They follow launches at White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds and Welcome Break Motorway Service Station in Rotherham earlier this year. Rob Burns, marketing director of Chopstix, said: “We’re delighted to announce the opening of two new stores in the UK as we continue to accelerate site growth across the country. “With the roll out of our upgraded visual identity at our Bridgend […]
