Whole Foods Market is set to double its total number of UK stores with the planned opening of six new stores across the capital over the next few months.
The upmarket food retailer, which is owned by ecommerce titan Amazon, will open the new stores in Angel, Liverpool Street, Notting Hill Gate, Wood Wharf, Monument and St. James between April 2 and June 11, 2026.
In March 2025, the retailer opened its first new UK store in over a decade, with its 21,000 sq ft King’s Road shop.
A source close to the business said that five of the new stores will be former Amazon Fresh stores, with the only non-Fresh store new opening being the shop in St. James.
“We’re happy to be expanding Whole Foods Market’s physical store presence in the U.K., allowing us to reach more customers with our uncompromising quality standards and carefully curated selection of natural and organic products,” said Jason Buechel, vice president of Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores and Whole Foods Market chief executive.
“Each new store represents an opportunity to bring responsibly sourced, high-quality food to more communities that share our values of nourishing people and the planet.”
“We are thrilled to bring Whole Foods Market to more neighbourhoods in London,” added Jade Hoai, executive leader of operations for Whole Foods Market U.K. “We look forward to opening our doors to these wonderful communities, and to providing great customer service and an excellent product assortment that meets our high-quality standards.”
The announcement comes after Retail Week broke the news that Amazon was shuttering all 19 of its UK Fresh stores in September 2025.
It was part of a wider strategic shift for Amazon’s food business in the UK, which saw it return to a focus on its online business by doubling the number of Prime subscribers, who would in turn then have access to three of its retail grocery partners: Morrisons, Co-op and Iceland, as well as rapid delivery business GoPuff.
The retail giant also said it plans to introduce fresh groceries to its own grocery delivery ecommerce site from 2026.
The closure of the 19 stores sparked a battle between grocery giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s over the leases, as was first reported by Retail Week. Tesco ended up winning out, securing the leases on five former Fresh stores to be reopened as Tesco Express stores in 2026.
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