Convenience Store is always pleased to celebrate the latest store openings across the UK, regardless of ownership, buying group, store size or age.
And 2025 was jam-packed with all the usual mayoral visits, giant scissors, balloon arches and product giveaways for shoppers that often signal the arrival of a new store in a community.
Below are five of the more attention-grabbing stores this site shouted about this year, and doubtless there will be and equally impressive number in 2026…
In February, the very first Go Local format store opened its doors in Wrexham (above) – a first for the community there.
The 2,000 sq.ft. store, located on Prince Charles Road, received over £200k of in investment and was transformed from what was previously just an empty unit.
With over 26 years of experience and two other successful convenience stores in the town, retailer Subash Subakaran said he has switched from Premier as he wanted a change with his latest retail venture.
Then, back in May, a new Morrisons Daily opened in High Wycombe, replacing a Nisa store in the same premises that closed the year before.
The 3,000 sq.ft. is on the edge of an established residential community, with further housing developments currently under construction nearby, making it a perfect spot for all shopping needs.
Sunny and Vicky Singh, who’ve operated convenience stores for many years, chose to join Morrisons to “offer their customers a wide range of supermarket-quality products from a brand they know and trust.”
The new micro format offering from Co-op was announced - and then swiftly rolled out – in July of this year, with the first of its smaller branches opening in Solihull.
Offering a range of food to go products in the daytime, by night the store is run as a delivery hub for hot food and more.
The new format offerings are only a quarter of the size of Co-op’s regular convenience stores, coming in at 600-1,000 sq.ft each. The Solihull branch represented something of a trailblazer for the co-operative, with numerous other stores going live as 2025 progressed.
In October, a Nisa Local in Fife opened a store in Dalgety Bay, with the premises now under new ownership.
The store manager is experienced independent retailer, Bashir Naeem, who also successfully operates another Nisa store nearby, with Co-op Wholesale helping him out with the full modernisation of the new store.
The completed refurbishment included new counters and shelving, a full redecoration and updated signage - creating a brighter, more contemporary feel.
Finally, November saw the opening of a new Spar store in Fulwood – but this one was notable for its location – in the town’s former police station, which dated from 1869.
The red brick Spar Sharoe Green, located in Watling Street Road, mixed “modern retail needs with local heritage preservation” and its opening by James Hall & Co. Ltd has given the building a new lease of life as well as creating 19 new jobs.
No comments yet