Waitrose steps up expansion with first new supermarket for seven years

Western Telegraph

7 hours ago

Parent group the John Lewis Partnership said it has agreed a multi-million-pound deal to expand the supermarket arm further.
The new store is expected to open in Brabazon, a new town in North Bristol, in 2027.
The 30,000 square foot store, which is being developed in partnership with YTL Developments, is set to create around 150 jobs.
Waitrose is to invest £1 billion on new stores and refurbishments over the next three years (Yui Mok/PA)
It will be the retailer's first full-line supermarket opening since before the Covid pandemic, although it has expanded over the period through convenience and smaller franchise stores.
Waitrose is also set to open a new convenience store in The Arches in Bristol and has recently opened franchised stores with Welcome Break in Spaldwick, Cambridgeshire and Rotherham, and a convenience store in Southwick, West Sussex.
It will open two more Welcome Break stores in Hickling, Leicestershire and Newark, Nottinghamshire, later this summer.
The opening is part of plans to invest £1 billion into new stores and improvements to 150 existing stores over the next three years.
James Bailey, managing director for Waitrose, said: 'We are moving up a gear in store investment as we open in new locations and modernise our existing estate to bring the quality, service and value that customers love about Waitrose closer to more people.
'Brabazon is one of the most exciting new city districts in the UK, driving the growth of one of the UK's most vibrant and successful regional economies.
'Partnering with YTL Developments at Brabazon underlines our ambition and the opportunity we believe we have to grow our reach.'
The store will be in Brabazon, a new neighbourhood in Bristol being built on the former Filton Airfield, where every UK Concorde was built.
Seb Loyn, planning and development director at YTL, said: 'The arrival of Waitrose in 2027 is not only great news for the thriving community of new residents at Brabazon.
'It shows that this new city district is now firmly established as one of the most attractive destinations for both homebuyers and commercial investment in the South West.'