By the end of January Leeds City Centre will have two new additions as Morrisons new convenience store, Morrisons M Local, opens on The Headrow and Infirmary Street.
The Morrisons M Local opened on Infirmary Street on Monday 26th January closely followed by the second store on The Headrow on Saturday 31st January.
The Infirmary Street unit is owned by Evans Property Group and the M Local deal brings about the full occupation of the parade of retail units located underneath the Capitol office building which Evans has recently launched to the market following a circa £10M investment into both Capitol and neighbouring office building, Minerva to create over 50,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation. The office projects will be further complemented by public realm works to Bond Court and the introduction of a new 4* hotel on Greek Street. CBRE acted for Evans and Morrisons was represented by Savills.
The first store will be opened by representatives from Sue Ryder’s Wheatfield’s Hospice. Sue Ryder are Morrisons charity partner and all M Local’s and main estate stores are working together to raise funds for the charity, raising more than £1million for the charity in the first year of the partnership already.
Each store has created 20 new jobs in the City Centre and will be providing a balance of fresh food and on-the-go snacks and meals. Both stores will also feature the hugely popular Morrisons salad bar.
The supermarket believes it has spotted a gap in the market for a convenience store that offers more fresh food – as opposed to just tins and toiletries – to enable customers to cook a meal from scratch or buy a high quality ready meal.
The Infirmary Street M Local Store Manager Paul Foster said: “We are proud to be the first of two M Locals opening in Leeds City Centre, creating new jobs and bring a mixture of fresh food and hot and cold snacks to the busy people of Leeds.
“Fresh food will be at the heart of our store and as a team we will work hard to be a positive addition to the local community.”
The second store on The Headrow will be opened by representatives from the local British Heart Foundation store. Chris Markwell manager of the M Local on The Headrow said: “My team and I already spent a day giving up our own time to run a British Heart Foundation store and will be working with the charity on future fundraising opportunities.”
Alan Syers, Portfolio Director at Evans Property Group, said; “The £20m of investment into the Bond Court projects is having a spin-off effect into the immediate surrounding area and as a result the Infirmary Street unit has been identified by Morrisons as a good location for its M Local brand. We are delighted to have achieved full occupation of this retail parade as we launch Capitol to the market and look forward to seeing the new outlet become operational.”
The new stores will feature a ‘Food to Go’ section with fresh coffee, bacon sandwiches, pastries and a salad bar meaning customers can easily pick up food on the move.
