M&S on the move in Liverpool
The troubled retail giant is to leave Church Street, its home in the city for almost a century, in a relocation to the former Debenhams store in Liverpool One.
Pete Dobson, regional manager for M&S, said: “We’re really excited to announce our plans to open a brand new M&S store in the Liverpool ONE shopping centre. The new store, which we expect to open in mid-2023, will offer the very best of M&S in a prime location in Liverpool city centre.
“Local residents and visitors to the city will be able to shop across a wide range of M&S products in our new Foodhall and Clothing & Home departments, in a fresh, modern store with fully integrated digital technology to support customers however they want to shop.
“In line with this investment in a new M&S store for Liverpool city centre, our existing store at 35 Church Street will close once the new store is ready to open with all colleagues having the opportunity to transfer to work in the new store.”
M&S’s move signals a further boost to Liverpool ONE, where Debenhams closed in May 2021. In April, Gravity Active Entertainment signed a 15-year lease for 100,000 sq ft of the 185,000 store for a destination including e-karting, urban golf, bowling and food & drink.
A statement from Grosvenor said: “M&S’s proposal to relocate to Liverpool ONE is a significant vote of confidence in the city centre. It also completes the transformation of the former Debenhams following the announcement that Gravity is to create a £10m/100,000 sq ft entertainment experience on the upper two floors.”
Marks & Spencer moved into Compton House in Church Street in 1928, the building being noted as one of the world’s first purpose-built department stores from its 1860s origins, although it also operated as a hotel for a time.
In recent years, the firm has sought to rationalise its store estate as it struggles to adapt, with locations falling victim to closure including Stockport, since taken on by developer Glenbrook, and Macclesfield, which will close this autumn.
