M&S confirms closure of UK store – ‘no sustainable future’ | UK | News
Marks and Spencer has announced it will close one of its stores in Essex because the branch does not have a “sustainable” future. The giant retailer has confirmed that it is proposing to close the M&S food hall on Arthur Ransome Way in Walton-on-the-Naze.
It comes as a wave of store closures continues across Britain’s high streets and shopping districts due to financial difficulties in the sector.
The official closing date for the Essex store has not yet been confirmed. However, M&S has confirmed it will close several stores as part of a rotation program that includes opening new stores and investing.
M&S regional manager Will Holden said: “Our UK-wide store rotation program is about ensuring every store we own offers the best M&S service to customers. This means opening new stores, investing in others, but also closing stores that unfortunately do not have a sustainable future.”
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to recommend the closure of our Walton-on-the-Naze food hall. “I would like to thank all our customers who shop with us in store and our priority now is to continue discussions with colleagues about what these proposals mean for them.
“We opened our brand new 15,500 sq ft Clacton Brook Park store in 2023 and, if these bids are successful, we will continue to work hard at the store to serve customers from all over the Tendring peninsula.”
In other M&S news, the company reopened its Martlesham Heath store on 30 April 2026 following a two-month transformation. The 13,000-square-foot store features a brand new in-store bakery and coffee counter offering a variety of pastries and breads, as well as barista-made to-go drinks, and a brand new cheese barge in the center of the store offering a variety of specialty cheeses.
The retailer added that customers are now enjoying a wider range of products, including fresher produce from M&S’ Select Farm partners.
Store manager Jonathan Black said: “It’s great to be serving our customers again. The atmosphere this morning was stunning and I’m so grateful to everyone who queued up to be one of the first to get in.”
“We are also hugely grateful to the team for all their hard work; this investment in Martlesham means we can now deliver the best M&S Food to our customers just in time for the bank holidays and the start of summer.”
