Gimme five!

Waitrose's plans to expand north of the border received a welcome boost last week with news that it has secured planning permission for a new store at Stirling, Perthshire.

The 25,000 sq ft shop will be built on the town's former Burghmuir Industrial Estate, as part of a regeneration by Stirling Development Agency. It should open by early 2013.

Waitrose has four supermarkets in Scotland - at Morningside and Comely Bank in Edinburgh, Byres Road (Glasgow) and Newton Mearns - and has applied for planning permission for a sixth store in Helensburgh.

Driving north

Nigel Keen, Director of Development, Waitrose, says the Stirling announcement reflects Waitrose's ambition to 'make our brand more accessible to more Scottish consumers'.

'Stirling will create 180 secure jobs and allow us to invest further with farmers and suppliers in the area,' he says.

Many existing Scottish Partners are keenly aware of the customer demand for Waitrose. Comely Bank Section Manager Wes Liddle previously worked at John Lewis Edinburgh and says: 'I know from my 15 years there that there's a large untapped market for Waitrose in Scotland. There's so much potential for our brand.'