Marks & Spencer axes new store for food-only option

Marks & Spencer has pulled out of a deal at the eleventh hour to be the anchor of a major retail park development in Newark.

Instead, the high street giant will open only a food hall at another site, meaning there will be no clothing ranges or other lines.

The closure of its town centre Stodman Street store will still go ahead.

A spokesperson for M&S said: “We are adapting to changing customer habits and this means taking some tough decisions.

“In this case, changes to the development plans mean we don’t believe opening the store on Maltings the right move.”

The spokesman said a food hall, with click-and-collect for internet buys, was now all that was in the offing.

“We will update the community on our plans as soon as we can,” said the spokesman.
M&S announced in January that it planned to give up its town centre store in favour of a new development proposed for near Northgate Retail Park.

The company had promised the new, bigger store, at the Maltings Retail Park, where construction is yet to begin, with a café and home department.

It would have been double the size of its existing outlet.

Phil Rowe, development director at Newark Property Development Ltd, which is developing Maltings Retail Park, said: “Having worked with M&S for nearly 18 months on the 40,000sq ft store offering food, clothing, furniture and café, M&S backed out at the point of contracts being exchanged.

“Newark Property Development are very disappointed having spent a lot of time and resource in bringing forward a store that would meet M&S’s requirements and secure their presence in Newark.”

An existing unit out of Newark town centre has been suggested as the new destination for M&S.

However, the current occupiers told the Advertiser it was news to them and they hadn’t been served notice by their landlord.

The Maltings Retail Park is an undeveloped site between the BP petrol station and the former Warwicks and Richardsons Brewery on Northgate.

Mr Rowe said Newark Property Management had other clients interested in the development and, although it had lost an anchor store, he was confident it would still be delivered.

“We are always exploring other options.We have others interested in coming to Newark,” he said.

“Newark Property Development is moving forward with the Maltings Retail Park and continue discussions with national retailers who are not represented in Newark.”

Mr Rowe would not identify any interested parties until contracts were signed.