Please can you update the AGM on café closures in stores? We’ve had a question about closures of the café in the Blandford store and another around why there isn’t a café in the new Chesterfield store.

This question was answered live in our broadcast at 28:37.

We know many customers love our cafés, but we will always prioritise the right Clothing & Home and Food space before looking to offer a café.  

M&S is one of the largest high-street coffee retailers in the UK, with over 300 cafés, serving over 32m customers per year. We have individually trained 1800 master baristas who annually make 25m+ cups of coffee.  

In some stores we have chosen not to offer a café option, whereas in others there may be different types of proposition depending on the size, location and profile of the stores.  

Unfortunately the Blandford café closed last year and we have no plans to reopen it.