Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced plans to open 12 new stores based at former Homebase sites across the UK.

The move is part of the retailer’s shop rotation and refurbishment programme, focused on creating 420 larger food shops and a more productive group of 180 Full Line shops, with half of the estate expected to be in refurbished format by 2028.

The new shops will be located in several locations, including Abingdon, Cannock, Farnham, Godalming and Northampton, with the stores opening between late 2025 and summer 2026.

Ranging in size from 18,000 to 22,000 square feet, the new shops will feature large bakeries with fresh coffee to go and Click & Collect counters for orders from fashion, home and beauty products purchased on M&S.com.

The chain said all new M&S shops will aim to meet its commitments to the company’s sustainability-focused programme Plan A by adopting energy-efficient solutions such as LED lighting and natural refrigerant fridges and freezers.

The retailer first launched Plan A in 2007, with the company pledging to reduce emissions and use sustainable materials.

The department store chain added that the new developments will create over 550 new jobs.

Last year, M&S opened six food shops and two full line shops.

It also renovated nine existing shops that were upgraded to a new format to feature larger parking spaces, a brand-new Coffee Bakery where customers can grab a coffee while they pick up baked products, and expanded frozen food sections.

M&S chief executive officer Stuart Machin said that investment in new and refurbished shops is one of the chain's 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,” he said.

The move comes after the British retailer recently faced a highly sophisticated and targeted cyberattack which will cost it around £300 million in operating profits, with disruption expected to continue into July.


The attack, which took place at the end of April, forced the company to suspend its online clothing operations and led to bare food shelves.

The incident hass already wiped more than £1 billion from the company's stock market value, with shares down 3.4 per cent in early trading on Wednesday last week, extending losses since the attack to 13 per cent.

---