M&S announces £50m investment into North West estate
Marks & Spencer has announced that it will be investing £50m into its stores across the North West of England, adding 100,000 sq ft of additional space to its estate.
The investment – which will be spread across the next three financial years – will see three stores in the North West renewed to the retailer’s latest format as well as the launch of five new stores.
It forms part of M&S’s store renewal and rotation programme, which the retailer recently said is picking up pace with with renewed stores trading well.
The first of the eight stores, located at Gemini Retail Park, Warrington, reopened last week with a new clothing, home, and beauty department, following the opening of a food hall in October last year.
Meanwhile, the New Mersey Retail Park store in Speke is to move sites and undergo a transformation from a food hall into a full-line store, offering clothing, home, and beauty to customers in south Liverpool.
M&S is also planning to open the doors to a brand-new food hall at The Point development in Formby, Merseyside.
In Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, M&S is planning to open a new food hall, pending planning permission. The investment will triple the size of the existing store to 16,000 sq ft. Meanwhile in East Lancashire, M&S has submitted a planning application to move its Blackburn store to Frontier Park retail hub.
M&S’s existing stores in Greater Manchester are also set to grow, with an extension planned for the full-line store in Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton, and a redesign for the food hall in Sale which was recently completed.
Will Smith, property director at M&S, said: “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.”