Primark reaffirms commitment to UK retail with £140 million investment in new and existing stores

• At least four new stores to open over the next two years in Bury St Edmunds, Craigavon, Salisbury and Teesside Park

• Upgrades and refurbishments planned for stores across the UK

• Creation of 850 new jobs as a result of new store openings and extensions

Primark has reaffirmed its commitment to UK retail, with plans to invest £140 million over the next two years in its UK store estate. This will include the opening of at least four new stores in Bury St Edmunds, Craigavon, Salisbury and Teesside Park. The investment creates at least 850 new jobs and increases selling space by more than 160,000sq ft, in a boost to local shopping areas.

Alongside the new stores, Primark will extend and invest in existing stores and will relocate its stores in Bradford and High Wycombe to higher profile locations. In response to the growing popularity of its Home range, a second dedicated Primark Home space will open in its Liverpool store, following on from the success of Primark Home in Merry Hill, West Midlands.

This investment builds on the launch of its Click + Collect trial last week. The trial, on offer in 25 stores across the North of England and Wales on an extended range of kids’ clothing, accessories and nursery products, is offering customers more convenience, more choice and more reasons to visit their local high street.

As part of Primark’s commitment to create a great in-store experience for everyone, it will refurbish and upgrade stores on high streets, shopping centres and retail parks. This work will include improving and updating décor and fixtures within stores. The continued roll-out of LED lighting across its UK store portfolio is also included, as Primark progresses its ambition to halve its carbon footprint across its value chain by 2030.

Paul Marchant, Chief Executive at Primark, said: “The UK is our biggest market and, as we continue to grow and expand our business internationally, we remain as committed as ever to investing in our stores to offer more customers our great value clothing, beauty, homewares and much more. Busy towns and cities benefit us all – we want to see thriving high streets and shopping centres where people come together and enjoy spending time. Through today’s investment, we’re playing a part in ensuring that UK retail continues to grow and thrive and give people another reason to visit their local high street.”

Designed to complement the Primark offer in-store, Primark plans to continue to grow its successful partnerships and collaborations. This includes ‘WornWell by the Vintage Wholesale Company’ which opened in Primark stores in Birmingham, Manchester and London’s Oxford Street and ‘Tasty by Greggs’ cafés which also opened in Birmingham and London earlier this year. Beauty studios and food and beverage outlets can already be enjoyed by customers in a number of Primark’s UK stores.

Today, it has 190 stores and employs more than 30,000 colleagues across the UK. Outside of the UK, customers can find Primark stores in 13 other countries. It continues to accelerate its pace of international expansion, opening 27 new stores and an additional 1 million sq ft of new selling space this financial year, in line with its aim of reaching 530 stores by 2026. Primark is focusing this expansion on the US, its European markets of France, Italy and Spain, as well continuing to grow in Central and Eastern Europe, with stores set to open in Romania and Slovakia this financial year.