Waitrose Announces First New Full-Size Store In Seven Years

• First new full-line Waitrose shop for seven years
• Store located at Brabazon, a thriving new community in North Bristol 
• Waitrose is also opening new convenience stores and investing in existing estate

Waitrose has confirmed that its first new full-line supermarket for seven years will be built at Brabazon, an award-winning new town in North Bristol. The 30,000 sq ft store will create around 150 new jobs and is expected to open in 2027. 

The multi-million pound deal agreed with YTL Developments is the first major commercial partnership announced at Brabazon, which is one of the most sustainable examples of urban regeneration in the UK. It follows the YTL Group’s commitment in January to invest £4bn over the next five years.

The supermarket is broadening its reach across the UK with the Brabazon agreement, as well as the upcoming launch of a new convenience store in The Arches, Bristol; and recent expansions through franchised stores with Welcome Break in Spaldwick, Cambridgeshire and Rotherham, and a convenience store in Southwick, West Sussex. Later this summer two more stores will open at Welcome Break road service areas in Hickling, Leicestershire and Newark, Nottinghamshire.

More than 20 stores will undergo refurbishments this year, almost double the number year-on-year. It forms part of plans to inject a £1bn over the next three years into new stores and improvements to 150 existing shops, almost half of its estate. 

James Bailey, Managing Director for Waitrose, said: “We are moving up a gear in store investment as we open in new locations and modernise our existing estate to bring the quality, service and value that customers love about Waitrose closer to more people.

“Brabazon is one of the most exciting new city districts in the UK, driving the growth of one of the UK’s most vibrant and successful regional economies. Partnering with YTL Developments at Brabazon underlines our ambition and the opportunity we believe we have to grow our reach.”

The new Waitrose supermarket will be located in a prime position on the A38 Gloucester Road at the gateway to Brabazon, and just 500m from a new train station which is expected to open in 2026. It will occupy the ground floor of a seven storey office building, designed by AHR architects and be served by an adjacent multi-storey car park with space for over 1,500 vehicles.

The shop will offer Waitrose's industry leading quality food, popular fresh food counters, as well as online grocery shopping and an on-demand grocery service.

Brabazon: The most exciting new urban district in the South West

Brabazon is the new neighbourhood for Bristol, being built on the historic former Filton Airfield, where every UK Concorde was built. YTL Developments is now transforming this historic landmark, located at the heart of Bristol’s world-leading aerospace, engineering and technology business cluster, into a new urban community, with hundreds of new homes already completed and occupied.

Designed to live up to the legacy of this former Airfield’s pioneering past, the approved plans for Brabazon include thousands of new homes, creative workplaces to support up to 30,000 jobs, as well as the largest new urban public park in the South West for over 50 years and a supersonic new Arena for Bristol.

Seb Loyn, Planning & Development Director at YTL Developments said: “The arrival of Waitrose in 2027 is not only great news for the thriving community of new residents at Brabazon: It shows that this new city district is now firmly established as one of the most attractive destinations for both homebuyers and commercial investment in the South West.

“In the past year, YTL Developments has announced a multi-billion pound investment package, seen work start on a new train station, and welcomed hundreds of new residents to the community.

Welcoming Waitrose – one of the best-loved retailers in the UK – to Brabazon as our first commercial  partnership is a signal of our intent to create a new town for North Bristol that works for people and for businesses, now and for years to come.”

Source : Waitrose

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