Morrisons plans further West Midlands expansion despite Tesco's caution

摘要

Morrisons continues to expand its portfolio of stores in the West Midlands, despite subdued sentiment in the food store market. This month it opened a 40,000 sq ft store in Leamington Spa, developed with Trilogy Developments, and it intends to open a 105,977 sq ft shop in Sheldon in June. James Brook, Morrisons' head of property in the West Midlands, says the company is in a different situation to Tesco, which withdrew from more than 100 development sites last month. 'Tesco has a huge land bank of sites, which it has had historically to protect areas," he claims. "They are more saturated than us, and we still have plenty of room to expand. "You can't compare us. We have grown in a more sensible, organic way and are looking to fill more gaps in the market."