Marks and Spencer unveils plans for 20 new UK stores - full list of confirmed locations

Marks & Spencer has unveiled plans to open 20 new stores across the UK in a move that will create more than 3,400 jobs. The group said it will open eight full-line stores in shopping centres, retail parks and high streets across key cities, selling both food and clothing.

The Bullring in Birmingham and the Trafford Centre in Manchester will house some of the new sites, as well as the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds, Liverpool ONE and Lakeside Thurrock. All five of these new full-line stores will be converted from old Debenhams sites as part of its pledge to regenerate vacant store outlets.

The retailer will also open 12 new food halls, with Stockport, Barnsley and the seaside town of Largs in North Ayrshire, Scotland, among the locations.

M&S said the new openings will bring investment in new stores to £480 million, with the new plans coming under a wider restructure of its business.

The group last year revealed it would reduce the number of its full-line stores by 67 to 180 by early 2026. Chief executive Stuart Machin said stores were a “key part” of the group’s future, alongside online trading.

He said: “Stores are a core part of M&S’s omni-channel future and serve as a competitive advantage for how customers want to shop today. Our store rotation programme is about making sure we have the right stores, in the right place, with the right space and we’re aiming to rotate from the 247 stores we have today to 180 higher-quality, higher-productivity full-line stores that sell our full clothing, home and food offer whilst also opening over 100 bigger, better food sites.

“The out-performance of our recently relocated and renewed stores give us the confidence to go faster in our plan.”

The group is committing to retail space at a time when many rivals are switching to online only, but M&S said it wants to open “bigger, better stores”.

It said each of the larger new stores had been designed “with local families in mind”, with wider aisles and more spacious clothing and home departments, allowing shoppers to browse.

They will also have new M&S cafes, as well as sustainable initiatives such as Fill Your Own, and offer free car parking. Its new market-style food halls will also stock the full M&S food range.

Where will the new M&S stores be located?

The locations of the new M&S stores that have been confirmed so far:

• Purley Way, Croydon - expected Summer 2023
• White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds - expected Summer 2023
• Liverpool ONE - expected Summer 2023
• Bullring and Grand Central, Birmingham - Autumn 2023
• Lakeside Thurrock - Winter 2023
• Trafford Centre, Manchester - Winter 2023
• Stockport - expected Summer 2023
• Barnsley - expected Autumn 2023
• Largs, North Ayrshire, Scotland - expected Winter 2023

The new stores announcement comes after M&S recently emerged as one of the winners of the Christmas trading season, with a 6.3% rise in like-for-like sales across its food halls in the 13 weeks to 31 December, while it saw clothing and home comparable store sales rise 8.6%.

It said recent sales across stores already revamped as part of its overhaul had traded better than expected, with clothing and home sales 26% ahead of plans in its new Colchester store. The retailer is also investing in its digital offering, with the rollout of click-and-collect to 130 stores across the UK.