Waitrose & Partners closure announcement

Thursday 18 July 2019

Waitrose & Partners has exchanged contracts for the sale of four shops to other parties (figures provided are shop sales areas):
 

• Bromley (its shop located in Burnt Ash Lane, it will continue to trade from its Bromley shop in Masons Hill), South East London - 14,812 sq ft
• Oadby, Leicestershire - 24,467 sq ft
• Sandhurst, Berkshire - 18,259  
• Wollaton, Nottinghamshire 22,500 sq ft   
   

Bromley, Oadby and Wollaton are being acquired by Lidl; the party acquiring Sandhurst has asked not to be named at this time.
The retailer will also be closing a further three shops:
 

• Marlow, Buckinghamshire - 8,007 sq ft 
• Stevenage, Hertfordshire - 14,506 sq ft 
• Waterside, British Airways Headquarters, near Heathrow - 520 sq ft  
   

The details of the arrangements are not yet finalised, but the expectation is that the shops will close in the autumn.
 

The 677 Partners working at these shops will now enter a period of consultation and as part of this Waitrose & Partners will explore opportunities within the Partnership for those who wish to remain with the business.
 

Waitrose & Partners Director of shop trade Mark Gifford said:

“We haven’t taken this decision lightly but we have to do what’s right for the business as a whole. Thanks to the hard work of all our Partners we’re making good progress and Waitrose & Partners is on track for profit growth this year but, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we haven’t been able to find a way to make these shops profitable in the long term.

“Our priority now is the wellbeing and future of our Partners in these shops. We will do everything we can to support them and will explore opportunities for anyone wishing to remain with the Partnership.”

Waitrose & Partners

Waitrose & Partners has 347 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. It combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop - dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service. Waitrose & Partners is an employee-owned business - all employees are Partners and have a say in how the business is run.

Waitrose & Partners exports products to more than 50 countries worldwide and has nine shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers.