Major blow as Marks And Spencer closes Waterlooville cafe to create larger foodhall amid expansion plans
Marks And Spencer has confirmed the closure of its Waterlooville café in Wellington Retail Park so the space can be repurposed for a larger foodhall, a move framed as part of a wider expansion strategy to open new stores across the country. The change follows a string of on-site café shutdowns elsewhere and comes as the business sets out new site requirements and a short-term opening timetable for dozens of stores.
Marks And Spencer cafe closures and confirmed locations
Management has acknowledged that several on-site cafés have closed in recent months. The locations explicitly identified as having closed include:
- Crawley
- Dunblane
- Stirling
- Congleton
- Waterlooville (Wellington Retail Park) — latest confirmed closure to be repurposed
Company commentary notes this will be disappointing for some customers, while the business shifts those café footprints toward an expanded food offer.
Waterlooville change: café repurposed for larger foodhall
The Waterlooville café space will be re-purposed next month to allow for a larger foodhall. The stated aim for the repurposing is to offer a wider range of food, including an increased selection of Select Farms produce. Staff are expected to remain in-store to continue serving customers during the transition.
Expansion drive, openings timetable and job creation
Marks And Spencer is pursuing a growth programme that includes plans to double its brand by opening new stores across the country. As part of that drive, 20 new or renewed stores are scheduled to open between November 2025 and March 2026, with the company projecting the creation of 800 jobs as a result of those openings.
New site requirements and the longlist of potential locations
An updated brochure of requirements sets out the characteristics sought for new sites. Each new location will need to be at least 21, 500 square feet, positioned in a highly visible location with easy access to major roads, and include dedicated parking. A published list of 500 potential locations has been compiled, with multiple Hampshire sites among those identified. The Hampshire places named include:
- Portsmouth
- Waterlooville
- Bishops Waltham
- Locks Heath / Fareham
- Chandler's Ford
- Basingstoke
- Fleet
- Hook
- Petersfield
Those requirements and the longlist are presented as the framework for where larger food-format stores could be located going forward.
Leadership comments and the stated strategy for food growth
Regional and food leadership have set out the rationale for the changes. Rebecca Rabadia, Regional Manager at the company, emphasised that customers want to shop a wider range of the retailer's food and that re-purposing the Waterlooville café will allow the store to offer more products. The regional team signalled an intent to keep serving customers in-store throughout the change.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of the food division, has said the strong performance of new food stores gives confidence to explore more locations across the UK, citing a range from Elgin to Exmouth as examples of areas under consideration. The leadership view is that the business is seeking sites suitable for large food stores in order to deliver the strategy of offering a better shopping experience, range and availability for customers.
Promotional notes present in the original coverage
The published coverage that outlined these developments included repeated promotional messaging inviting readers to consider a digital subscription. That messaging stated a digital subscription would provide unlimited access to the website's premium content, fewer ads and loyalty rewards; this promotional line appeared multiple times in the original material.
Recent updates indicate the Waterlooville café will be repurposed next month and that the company is progressing with the outlined store openings and site-selection criteria; details may evolve as the rollout continues.
