Marks & Spencer looks to redevelop one of its largest London stores, with new office space planned

For the retail part of the property, M&S would continue to sell a full range of products. There would also be the latest in-store digital shopping technology for customers and staff to use.

Employees would be redeployed to surrounding M&S stores during the proposed redevelopment and return to the Marble Arch store when it reopens.

 M&S said the plans are part of its ‘never the same again’ programme, under which it has been focusing on creating a store estate fit for the future.

Sacha Berendji, retail, property and operations director at M&S said the proposal “not only means we can redevelop and modernise our store so that it better serves the local community on the UK’s destination high street, but by taking an assertive approach to the management of our asset base we can unlock additional value from the site at the same time and further support our transformation”.

The retailer owns about 40% of its shops and other accommodation on a freehold or long leasehold basis, according to The Times, which first reported on the Marble Arch plan.

The move to look at offices comes despite some concerns that demand for space could suffer in central London as companies look to embrace more flexible working post-pandemic.

But a number of property developers believe demand will be there for modern and high quality workspace.