New M&S Leeds store announced for White Rose Shopping Centre in former Debenhams unit

The new department store will be located at the site previously occupied by Debenhams, which permanently closed earlier this year.

M&S expects the new store to open in Spring 2023. It will have a new M&S Café, as well as a large range of products across the food, clothing and home departments.

The existing M&S in the White Rose will remain open until that date, serving customers as normal.

All staff will be transferred to work in the new store and, due to its larger size, there will be extra jobs created.

M&S regional manager Paula Varley said: "We’re really excited to announce our plans to move to a brand new, larger M&S full-line store in the White Rose Shopping Centre.

"The new M&S White Rose will offer local customers a much bigger range of M&S products across our food, clothing and home departments and a new M&S Café.

"All colleagues in our existing store will move to work in the new store and we’re also delighted to be creating new roles on top of this.

“This investment in Leeds and the wider local area is part of the reshaping of our store estate to make sure it’s fit for the future, meeting the needs of customers today – and those of tomorrow.

"We expect to be able to open the new and improved store in Spring 2023 and our existing store in the shopping centre will remain open as usual until the development is complete."

Pablo Sueiras, senior portfolio director at Landsec, which manages White Rose Shopping Centre, added: “We are shaping White Rose in a way that truly meets all the needs of our community, combining fashion, dining, leisure, and convenience.

"We have seen over the last year just how important the offer of brands like M&S has been, and we are delighted to have secured this upsize with them. Landsec has invested significantly to create this bespoke unit for M&S, which is undoubtedly the best way to reimagine this space to improve the White Rose offer for our guests.

“The relocation and significantly upsized M&S store also demonstrates the strong performance at White Rose, and the centre’s role in providing flagship stores for key brands in the region. This follows upsizes in recent years with Next and River Island, and is further evidence of our commitment to support brand partners that want to expand their offer at White Rose.”

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