Marks & Spencer to take over old Debenhams store in Bullring shopping centre

Marks & Spencer is set to take over and transform the closed and boarded up Debenhams store in the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham.

Currently based in High Street, the company has secured a deal to take the large unit previously housing Bullring tenant Debenhams, which went into administration in April 2020 and closed down the store earlier this year.

Marks & Spencer has outlined plans to completely revamp the the lower two tiers of the four-floor retail outlet – initially opened as Debenhams in 2003 – giving it a complete makeover to mirror the company’s new Solihull store.

All of the company’s 150 staff from its current store will be relocating to the new shop in a move expected to be completed by late 2022 or early 2023.

Marks & Spencer, commonly known as M&S, will close its present Birmingham store once the relocation has been completed but it will continue to trade as usual during the transition period.

Across the Bullring unit’s two lower floors, Marks & Spencer plan to sell clothes and homewares and have a food hall.

Katherine Ottewell, Regional Manager for M&S, said:

“We’re really excited to announce our plans to open a brand new M&S store in the Bullring. The new store, which we expect to open in Winter 2022/23, will offer the very best of M&S in a prime location in Birmingham city centre.

“Local residents and visitors will be able to shop a wide range of fantastic products across our Foodhall and Clothing & Home departments, in a fresh, design-led space that brings the best of our online and store offer together and is convenient and easy to shop.

“In line with this investment in a new M&S store for Birmingham city centre, our existing store at 42 High Street will close once the new store is ready to open with colleagues moving to work in our new store.

“This investment in the city is part of the wider reshaping of our store estate to make sure it’s fit for the future, meeting the needs of customers today – and those of tomorrow. We will keep the community updated as the works progress.”

Now closed, Debenhams opened its Birmingham store on 4 September 2003 as its largest in Britain, covering 19,230 square metres across four spacious floors.

Last year, fashion chain Next announced it had agreed a deal with Debenhams to open beauty outlets in five of the units it was vacating at that time, including in the Bullring. The move would see the third floor of the store repurposed as ‘The Beauty Hall from Next’, described by the brand as a “premium beauty retail format”.

The Debenhams store at the Bullring in Birmingham officially closed it doors on 15 May 2021.

WATCH | Here’s what the new Bullring M&S store could look like: