M&S to open six new food halls as part of £90m London store investment
Marks & 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 take place in stages, so the store can remain open, with works starting on the food hall in the basement in April.
A temporary food offer will be open in the Oxford Street store while the renewal takes place. Once complete, the food hall will offer a fresh pizza counter, hot chicken, and a new coffee shop concept.
This comes following M&S’s recent announcement that it will be investing £50m into its stores across the North West, adding 100,000 sq ft of space to its estate.
Sacha Berendji, operations director at M&S, said: “London has always been a special place for M&S, growing from penny bazaars in the early 20th century into fresh Foodhalls like the one in Brixton we reopened last year. We serve thousands of customers in the capital across our full line offering in larger stores on Oxford Street, which are soon to be redeveloped, to food on the move in train stations and we are always looking at what we can do next. Our pipeline of stores demonstrates our continued investment in London, and we will continue to bring the very best of M&S to customers from Brixton to Barnet for years to come.”