MARKS & Spencer is opening 12 new food stores across the UK – creating more than 500 jobs – just weeks after a major cyber attack left shelves empty and shoppers locked out of the website.
The retailer confirmed on Sunday, May 25, that the new stores will open on former Homebase sites in towns across England, including Abingdon, Cannock, Farnham, Godalming and Northampton.
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All openings are subject to planning permission.
The move is part of M&S’s major “store rotation and renewal” programme, which aims to bring in 420 bigger, fresher food shops and upgrade 180 full line stores by 2027/28.
Homebase, which went into administration in November 2024, has been closing stores up and down the country, giving M&S the chance to snap up key sites.
The new food halls will be focused in high-priority areas and are expected to create over 550 jobs.
Eight of the sites are due to open by the end of 2026.
It’s seen as a big step forward for the high street favourite as it continues to modernise and push its food business to the next level.
M&S boss 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.”
Last year, M&S opened six food stores and two full line stores, while also giving nine locations a full makeover.
This year, ten more food stores and two full line stores are in the pipeline.
The company says returns from new and upgraded stores have been strong – with performance beating expectations for three years straight.
But the good news comes at a time when M&S is still recovering from a damaging cyber attack that struck just before Easter.
The company was forced to suspend online orders, and personal customer data may have been compromised.
Shoppers trying to access the website in recent days were met with a message that read: “Sorry you can’t browse the site currently.
“We’re making some updates and will be back soon.”
The BBC later reported that the site was back online, though issues may still linger.
M&S has confirmed that “human error” led to the cyber attack and warned that disruption could continue until July.
The incident is expected to cost the firm around £300 million.
Names, email addresses, home addresses and dates of birth may have been stolen during the attack, though the company has not confirmed how many customers were affected.
Despite the disruption, M&S reported a strong set of financial results last week, posting an adjusted pre-tax profit of £875.5 million – up 22.2 per cent on the year before.
Tech expert Robert Cottrill, of digital firm ANS, said the retailer was right to take its time getting everything back up and running.
“M&S appears to be taking the appropriate and necessary steps following the cyber attack, with a likely focus on restoring core systems and recovering critical data,” he said.
“It’s essential that M&S prioritises a secure and complete recovery over a rapid one…
“The major disruption and sales loss M&S has seen following the incident serve as a powerful reminder to all organisations: cybersecurity must be treated as a board-level issue.”
The retailer hasn’t yet confirmed all 12 locations, so more towns could be added to the list soon.
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