Waitrose Opens First New Supermarket in Eight Years in North London

Waitrose has opened its first new supermarket in eight years, launching a store in Cricklewood, north London, as part of a £1bn investment plan. The grocer confirmed the opening on Thursday, with a second new store in Hale Barns, Greater Manchester, scheduled to follow next month.

The Cricklewood launch marks the first new supermarket opening for the upmarket grocer in eight years, a significant milestone for the retailer as it resumes physical expansion after a prolonged period without new store openings. The £1bn investment plan underpins the expansion, with the Hale Barns site in Greater Manchester set to open next month as the second location in the programme.

The opening gives Waitrose a new presence in north London and signals a renewed commitment to bricks-and-mortar retail at a time when grocers are weighing store estates against the growth of online shopping. For investors, the Cricklewood launch is the first tangible evidence of the £1bn investment plan being deployed, with the Hale Barns opening next month providing an early test of whether the programme can be rolled out on schedule.

The two openings — Cricklewood and Hale Barns — represent the first phase of the investment plan, and the pace of subsequent store launches will be the key indicator of how quickly the grocer converts the committed capital into new trading space. The Cricklewood store is now open, with Hale Barns to follow next month.