Shoppers are waiting patiently for Marks & Spencer to return to BroadmeadAn artist impression of what the new M&S store will look like in Cabot Circus(Image: M&S)
It’s been a year since news was first revealed that Marks & Spencer would be returning to central Bristol. Many shoppers were left disappointed and concerned for the state of the city’s shopping district when the Broadmead store closed for good back in 2022 after 70 years.
But then just over two years later M&S announced its grand return to Bristol city centre, when it revealed it would be opening a three-floor store in Cabot Circus. The major department store will make its home in the former House of Fraser at the shopping centre.
The news was first announced around a year ago – although the opening isn’t planned until later this year. But since then, there have been a fair few updates and snippets of what shoppers can expect from the new store when it opens.
So we thought we’d put together a handy guide of everything we know about the brand new store so far – from when it’s opening, to what will be on site, and if and how other stores in the shopping centre and neighbouring M&S branches, will be affected.
When is the new M&S at Cabot Circus opening?
Marks & Spencer is set to open at Cabot Circus this autumn. It was announced to be returning to the city centre back in July 2024, after closing its Broadmead outlet in January 2022 after 70 years.
No official opening date has been set in stone as of yet. But keep checking back as we’ll be sure to update you as more information is unveiled.
What do we know about what will be included at the new store?
Back in April, BristolLive reported that Marks & Spencer had submitted plans for external changes to the former House of Fraser store in Cabot Circus. The high street retailer was looking for permission to put its branding on the three-storey anchor store and change some entrances and fire exits.
The company is investing £21million to transform the huge unit, including what is said to be one of the biggest M&S cafes in the country, as well as a grocery supermarket, and clothing, beauty and home goods.
In fact, the new M&S is described as set to be one of the biggest in the country.
How are neighbouring stores impacted?
The chain still has a main outlet at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, as well as food stores at Imperial Park, Whiteladies Road, Avonmeads, Eastgate and Longwell Green.
The boss of Hammerson, which owns Cabot Circus, said the change will have a ‘positive impact’ on the shopping centre.
“We are delighted to continue expanding our partnership with M&S in Cabot Circus, having seen the positive impact of their presence across our other destinations,” said Hammerson chief executive Rita-Rose Gagné.
“M&S is a brand that resonates with our core catchment areas and this new store will support our strategy to create a leading destination, thriving at the heart of Bristol city centre,” she added.
The opening news came in the same week Cabot Circus announced it had found a replacement cinema firm to take over the old Showcase Cinema, which forms another anchor venue within the city centre shopping mall.
When did House of Fraser close?
House of Fraser was open for 16 years before shutting in August 2024. In a report by BristolLive back in July 2024, bosses at Cabot Circus explained more about their decision to axe House of Fraser and replace it with a new Marks & Spencer store – saying their ‘vision’ is to create a shopping centre destination that ‘thrives in the heart of Bristol’.
With the Showcase cinema having closed in Cabot Circus itself, M&S and Debenhams gone from Broadmead, The Galleries shopping centre set to close, and thousands of new homes planned in a series of tower blocks in the heart of the city, bosses at Cabot Circus are understood to be keen to radically change the shopping centre’s offering to keep it thriving into the mid and late 2020s.
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