Sainsbury’s takes former Homebase store at Scottish retail park

Sainsbury’s is set to take on the former Homebase store at NewRiver’s Cuckoo Bridge Retail Park in Dumfries, Scotland, opening its first store in the area.

The supermarket retailer has taken a new 15-year lease on the store on rental terms that are 60% higher than both Homebase’s previous rent and the estimated rental value.

The new Sainsbury’s store will join the existing offer at Cuckoo Bridge Retail Park, which includes the likes of B&M, Dunelm, Food Warehouse, Costa Coffee, and a Next click-and-collect pod.

A change of use application has been submitted to Dumfries and Galloway Council and – subject to approval – the new store is due to open in early 2026.

NewRiver acquired Cuckoo Bridge Retail Park in June 2016.

Allan Lockhart, CEO of NewRiver, said: “Sainsbury’s is one of our leading retail partners and the introduction of a new Sainsbury’s to the Dumfries area demonstrates the strength of the UK retail market and role of the physical store network for omni-channel operators.  The new Sainsbury’s promptly reactivates the recently vacant Homebase store and will create new jobs and a new supermarket offer for locals, providing high quality, great value products to our consumers.  We continue to see active demand for our retail parks, a sub-sector we expect to continue to grow our investment in.”

Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s chief property and procurement officer, added: “As we progress with our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan, and our commitment to bring more of our food offer to more customers, we are focused on delivering fantastic new supermarkets in key locations where we know the will succeed.  This supermarket will showcase some of the best of Sainsbury’s and we’re excited to bring a new store to Dumfries for the first time.

“We have a great pipeline of new store investment planned in Scotland, with three new Scottish Sainsbury’s stores opened already in 2025, and we’re delighted to have the chance to add another supermarket to it.  We look forward to sharing more details about our plans with elected representatives and the local community in the coming weeks.”