M&S to invest £30m in London store property and boost jobs

MARKS & Spencer is to invest a further £30m in its London stores over the next year, including the opening of two new foodhalls and the creation of 100 new jobs.

The basking retailer has a renewed sense of confidence on the back of its best financial results in nearly three decades last week.

Profits for the year to March rose 58% to £716m, a recovery many years in the making after some City analysts wrote it off as too old for modern buyers.

Instead, it attracted hundreds of thousands of new customers with a revamped clothing and food offering.

Today it said it would give a multi-million pound facelift to 12 M&S stores in the capital and open two fresh-style food halls in Sidcup and Friern Barnet.

Stores to be upgraded include those in Islington, Chancery Lane, Teddington and Blackheath.

The Sidcup store is due to open later this month, with the one in Friern Barnet coming in August.

Sacha Berendji, chief operating officer at M&S, said: “We can’t wait to bring the magic of M&S to even more customers in the capital. Expanding our presence in London is a key part of our growth strategy – our market share in food is higher here than any region in England and there is a lot of untapped potential.”

Customers of the 12 London renewal stores will benefit from larger in-store bakeries, dedicated flower and wine shops. Each will also have Click & Collect facilities – 63% of M&S customers currently collect their online orders in store.

M&S has more than 80 stores in Greater London and has invested more than £20 million in its London store business in recent years.

M&S chief executive Stuart Machin says the retailer’s financial health is “the best it has been in decades”.

Last year it sold 60 million pairs of panties at 114 pairs per minute.