M&S targets 500 new store sites as £300m revamp gathers pace

Marks & Spencer is ramping up its store renewal programme at pace, revealing a 500-strong list of target locations as it looks for new sites.

The retailer is seeking bigger, more visible sites averaging 18,000 sq ft, many of which sit on mixed retail parks that also house fashion operators such as Primark, Next and TK Maxx. Its 12 recently acquired Homebase units, set to become some of the largest standalone M&S Food stores in the UK, underscore the shift towards repositioning former large-format retail spaces. The first of these will open in Cannock before Christmas.

Between now and March, M&S will open or renew 20 stores, creating 800 jobs, as part of its plan to reshape the estate to 180 full-line stores and 420 Food stores. Over half of its entire store portfolio, including convenience sites, will be in its new renewal format by April 2028.

The retailer’s latest search includes areas where M&S currently has no presence, such as Hove, Marlborough and Wallingford, while also doubling down on regional retail parks that have proven to drive cross-category footfall. Its Selby store at Three Lakes Retail Park, opened last year, has outperformed expectations.

Alex Freudmann, Managing Director of M&S Food. said: "With more than twenty stores opening or modernised before the end of the financial year, we are moving faster. Our team want new sites where we could open a large M&S Food store as we deliver on our strategy to bring the right stores to the right places and offer the best shopping experience, range and availability for our customers."

The hunt for new sites is part of CEO Stuart Machin’s wider £300 million store investment plan announced in July, which includes opening 16 new stores this financial year alongside nine upsizes and 12 refurbishments. Machin described the programme as a “significant acceleration in momentum”, confirming that M&S had signed 47 deals for new or renewed stores to open by FY2028 - more than the previous three years combined.

The retailer is also pressing ahead with plans for new full-line stores in Bath (SouthGate) and Bristol (Cabot Circus), signalling that fashion, home and beauty remain critical to the company’s long-term estate strategy despite the current focus on Food.