M&S to open 12 new food stores in ex-Homebase locations

M&S is ramping up its store renewal strategy with plans to open 12 new food halls across England – including what will become its largest standalone food store to date.

The new sites, which sit on former Homebase plots, will create over 550 jobs and form a central part of M&S’s store rotation programme aimed at building “bigger, better” locations.

The openings also signal the retailer’s confidence in brick-and-mortar investment, even as the business recovers from a recent cyber attack that impacted trading.

Among the confirmed openings are two 18,000sq ft stores in Abingdon and Cannock, both scheduled to open in late 2025.

They’ll be followed by a further three large-format stores in Farnham, Godalming and Northampton by mid-2026. At 22,000sq ft, the Godalming store will be M&S’s biggest standalone food hall yet

The move follows M&S’s pledge to reshape its estate by 2027/28, with a target of 420 renewed Food stores and a more efficient set of 180 Full Line stores. The expansion also builds on last year’s results, which saw food sales outperform targets by around 20% in new stores.

This year, the retailer plans to open 10 new Ffod stores and two Full Line stores, in addition to upgrading a number of existing sites into the renewal format.

All new stores will feature modern in-store concepts including market-style fruit and veg displays, larger bakeries with coffee to go, and Click & Collect points for fashion, home and beauty orders from M&S.com. Other features include expanded frozen sections, wider aisles, and energy-efficient systems in line with the retailer’s Plan A commitments.

M&S CEO Stuart Machin said: “Investing in new and renewed stores is one of our key transformation priorities. Securing these highly desirable sites in priority locations will accelerate this strategy, drive further growth in our M&S food business and most importantly give our customers the best possible M&S shopping experience.”

The investment comes as M&S continues to assess the full financial impact of the Easter weekend cyber attack that disrupted operations, including online orders and in-store availability.

All store plans remain subject to planning approval.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter