Retail Property - M&S signs three in West Midlands for Simply Food

Marks & Spencer has signed up for three sites in the West Midlands as part of the regional roll-out of its successful Simply Food concept.

A 260 sq m store has been taken on Colmore Row in Birmingham city centre on a 20-year lease from Frontier Estates. Opening is scheduled for the summer.

At Lichfield in Staffordshire, a 290 sq m store in St Martins Property Corporation's Three Spires Shopping Centre has been taken on a 15-year lease to open this spring. And at Stourbridge in the West Midlands, a 215 sq m store at 31-33 Rye Market has been taken on a 15-year lease from Threadneedle Investments.

By 2005, Marks & Spencer intends to open 150 Simply Food stores. The format is flexible and units range in size from 230 to 930 sq m.