SEVERAL major high street brands have announced that they will be opening new locations across the country this year.
Among the brands set to expand their portfolios are bakery chain Greggs and discount store B&M.
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The additions will offer new shops and restaurants to the British high street, following a tumultuous start to 2023.
Over the last few months major chains have announced closures, including Paperchase and Boots.
Food and pub chains have also been closing doors at several locations across the country – including Wetherspoons.
This weekend B&Q and Argos all closed multiple branches.
It means that chains opening up stores, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants will be welcomed by shoppers who have been faced with empty shop fronts.
Below we round up the full list of retailers that have revealed they’ll be opening new sites in 2023.
In some cases the dates and locations of the new sites have not yet been announced but they will be completed by the end of the year.
Greggs
It’s good news for Greggs fans as the popular bakery chain is set to open 150 new branches this year.
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It is aiming to launch the new shops, following opening a record 186 new stores in 2022.
Greggs said it also has plans to relocate 40 shops to new, larger sites and trial a 24-hour drive thru service.
There are currently 17 drive-thru locations across the country and it’s planning to open a further eight to 10 of them this year.
B&M
Discount retailer B&M has closed several shops in recent weeks in order to open new sites within the same areas.
B&M’s Kilmarnock store in Queens Drive Retail Park is shutting up shop on March 26.
The new mega store at the town’s Glencairn Retail Park opened last month.
The retailer closed its Stockton store in the Castlegate Shopping Centre last weekend.
Its closure was due to it being moved over to a new site in the area which has now opened in Portrack Lane.
B&M opened a brand new store and garden centre in Barnsley a few weeks ago.
The discount retailer currently has over 700 stores, and is continuing to expand with the long-term target of 950 stores in the UK – it confirmed to The Sun.
Wagamama
Fans of the popular chain Wagamama will be thrilled to know that the company is planning on opening more sites in the UK.
The Asian-style food chain already has 165 restaurants across the country.
Its owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) has now revealed to The Sun that it plans to open at least five new sites every year for the next three years.
It was announced last week that TRG will be closing dozens of Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito restaurants over the next two years.
Around three of the branches will also be turned into Wagamama restaurants.
Poundland
Discounter Poundland is opening up 11 new stores over the next few months.
The chain has revealed the exact locations for new shops as well as some official opening dates.
- East Dulwich, London – March 18
- Dumbarton Road, Partick – March 25
- Parkgate, Rotherham – March 31
- Weston-super-Mare (expected to open in April)
- Burton-upon-Trent (expected to open in April)
- Castle Bromwich (expected to open in April)
- Widnes Retail Park (expected to open in April)
- Belfast Castlecourt (expected to open in April)
- Biggleswade (expected to open in April)
- Stafford (expected to open in April)
- Ipswich Copdock Retail Park (expected to open in April)
It comes after the chain said it would open 50 new stores by the end of September this year.
The branches will be opening across the high street, shopping centres and retail parks.
Starbucks
Coffee giant Starbucks is to open 100 new branches in the UK this year.
The new branches will be spread across the country.
However, Starbucks is yet to confirm the list of locations and opening dates.
These will be a mixture of company-operated and franchised stores.
The brand said it will spend over £30million in order to open the new cafes.
Starbucks currently has 1,066 stores open across the UK – 318 of which are company-owned and 748 are run by licensees.
It’s also hoping to renovate 30 company-operated stores over the course of the year.
Poundstretcher
Poundstretcher has revealed plans to bring 50 new shops to the high street before the end of the year.
One of the new shops has already opened in Scotland earlier this year.
The new location in Galashiels opened its doors on January 28 and launched with 50% off sale on selected lines.
Poundstretcher has not shared the full list of locations set to open.
It is anticipating the new shops will generate 2,000 jobs over the next five years.
TK Maxx
Discount retailer TK Maxx is reportedly looking for new locations as part of expansion plans.
The chain, which currently has around 350 stores in the UK already, is eyeing up over 28 new sites, according to The Evening Standard.
These include spots in Archway, Barnet, Elephant and Castle, and Upminster.
TK Maxx is known for its bargain prices and major discounts on designer items, so this will be welcome news for shoppers.
The plans come after The Sun reported that the bargain shop was closing, relocating and opening a handful of stores.
TK Maxx is opening a brand new store in Workington’s former Debenhams as well as a new store in Llanelli.
And its sister chain Homesense will open a brand new store in Llanelli right beside the planned TK Maxx.
No opening date has been confirmed yet for the new stores.
Aldi
Supermarket chain Aldi will be opening nine new stores across the country by the end of the year.
The move will see more than 6,000 new jobs created, and stores will open in places including Newcastle and Norwich.
The new stores are as follows:
- William Frost Way, Norwich
- Salt Lake, Porthcawl
- Kingston Park, Newcastle
- Station Road, Castle Donnington
- Eastrea Road, Whittlesey
- Causeway Park, Staines upon Thames
- Farnham Road, Slough
- Auckland Road, Southampton
- Hedge End, Southampton
The discounter currently has more than 990 stores and employs around 4,000 people.
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