M&S shuts city centre store for final time

Marks & Spencer is closing its doors in Queensgate for good on Saturday, 20 April

Employees are still at risk as Marks & Spencer shuts its doors for a final time in a major shopping centre later.

The retail giant is pulling out or Peterborough's Queensgate shopping centre, after nearly 60 years of having a presence in the city centre.

M&S regional manager Craig Burton previously blamed the decision on changing shopping habits.

Currently, there are 78 staff members working at the store and the company would not say how many would be deployed elsewhere.

Marks & Spencer has occupied large units split over two floors in Queensgate, which opened in 1982

The retailer said it tried to offer opportunities elsewhere wherever possible

The retailer's other Peterborough stores - at Brotherhood Shopping Park and its food hall at Serpentine Green - are unaffected by the closure.

A spokesperson for M&S said: “We would like to thank all our customers who have shopped in the store.

“In recent years we have invested over £31m in our stores in the East of England and we will keep serving our customers at our nearby Serpentine Green Foodhall and Brotherhood Retail Park store."

Since the loss of John Lewis from Queensgate in 2021, other big names to leave have included Next, Mac and Joules, and The Body Shop.

There are plans for a new cinema complex at the top of the centre which will be taken over by Odeon group. But shoppers felt it “might not be enough to transform Peterborough city centre as a shopping destination”.

The John Lewis unit has been empty since it closed in 2021, but Sports Direct is due to move in

However, the Frasers Group announced earlier this year that it would open a Sports Direct in the former John Lewis store by 2025,

Indoor golf venue Puttstars and Black Sheep Coffee were recent additions. Household retailer Sostrene Grene is due to move into the Joules unit soon.

Invesco Real Estate, which owns Queensgate, called House of Fraser's entry a “significant step” in its transformation.

Queensgate did not wish to comment on the M&S closure.