Grocery Growth: UK Supermarket and Convenience Changes in 2026 Q1

In this blog, we take a closer look at how the UK grocery landscape has evolved between the end of Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, focusing on overall change across the quarter. By updating our store-level dataset, we’re able to build a more detailed picture of how networks are evolving beneath the surface, not just where retailers have grown or shrunk, but how those changes have played out over time.

Aldi

Aldi continues steady expansion in the UK, reaching 1,080 stores by the end of Q1 2026, up from 1,066 in December 2025. The chain added 14 stores across England and Scotland, with no closures this quarter:

• East Midlands: Southam By Pass
• London: London Road West, Uxbridge
• North West: -
• North East: Colliery Lane (Hetton-le-Hole), West Denton Way (Newcastle)
• South East: Hove
• South West: Merlin Road (Bristol), Yate
• West Midlands: King George’s Way (Pershore)
• Yorkshire & The Humber: Huddersfield Road (Mirfield), Gallamore Lane (Market Rasen)
• Scotland: Dundee Road (Arbroath), 11 Boghall Road (Glasgow), 1 Mcgavigans Road (Kirkintilloch)
• Wales: -

Looking ahead, Aldi has unveiled plans to open 40 new stores across the UK in 2026 as part of a £370m investment, including locations such as Southam in Warwickshire, Hastings in East Sussex, and Amersham in Buckinghamshire. The expansion is part of the retailer’s longer-term strategy to reach 1,500 stores nationwide, addressing gaps in areas without an Aldi and continuing to make high-quality, affordable food more widely accessible.

Asda

Asda continues its gradual expansion nationally, growing from 1,116 stores at the end of December 2025 to 1,123 by the end of Q1 2026, with seven new sites and no closures this quarter. All of the new stores are Asda Express locations, reflecting the retailer’s continued focus on convenience retail. Notable examples include Asda Bradford, Toller Lane Express and Asda Salford, Greengate Express, both of which opened in January and helped tip Asda over the milestone of 500 Asda Express stores nationwide.

Booths

Booths remains a fixture of high-end grocery in Northern England, operating 25 stores across Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. In Q1 2026, the store network remained stable, with no changes, continuing to serve its loyal customer base across the region. The most recent change was the closure of the Ripon branch in July 2025, ending a 16-year presence in the city to make way for a Tesco store, which opened a few months later in November 2025.

Budgens

Budgens has consolidated itself around the 400-store mark, with the estate now at 415 locations. The retailer has continued its month-on-month growth by adding 13 new stores, all in England, strengthening its convenience footprint.

Centra

Centra, the newest addition to the Grocery Retail Points dataset in 2025, is based entirely in Northern Ireland. The chain has maintained a stable network of 101 stores throughout the quarter, with no changes, continuing to serve its established customer base across the region.

Costco

Costco’s UK network remains unchanged at 29 stores in Q1 2026, with no changes during the quarter. Excitingly, the wholesale giant is on track to open a new warehouse in Gloucester later this year, marking its first UK store opening since 2019. The 13,000 sqm facility, currently under construction, will feature a petrol station, ample parking, and sustainable design elements, representing a significant expansion of Costco’s UK network.

COOK

COOK continues to operate 115 stores across Great Britain, with no changes during the quarter. More stores are set to open in Q2 2026, including a new location in West Putney, expanding the brand’s presence and continuing to offer its signature hand-prepared frozen meals.

The Co-operative Group

The Co-operative Group has ended the quarter with 2,411 stores, representing a net increase of three despite some month-to-month fluctuations. New additions included locations such as Co-op Gairloch, Didcot, Ashburton, and Frampton Cotterell, while closures included Axminster and Cowdenbeath.

Looking ahead, Co-op is giving a flavour of what’s to come with plans to open 75 new stores in 2026, including a mix of company-owned and franchise sites. The expansion focuses on convenience, reaching both urban and rural communities, and is supported by refurbishments, sustainability initiatives, and community-focused services. Let’s see if they achieve their target and how this plays out across the UK convenience landscape.

The Co‑op Societies network has seen a noticeable reduction this quarter, as smaller societies face ongoing operational pressures from rising costs and expanding competition from convenience formats.

Dunnes Stores

Dunnes Stores continues to operate 15 locations, with no changes in Q1 2026. The retailer, also exclusively based in Northern Ireland, has an exciting new store set to open at Foyleside, Derry, in summer 2026. This redevelopment will create Dunnes’ largest footprint in the region, transforming the former food court into an expanded fashion, lifestyle, and homewares destination, complete with a panoramic in-store café. We know this doesn't offer food but it made its way in years ago after a user requested it.

Farmfoods

Farmfoods had a quiet quarter in terms of development and growth, with no new stores opening and three closures during this period: Selby and Erdington in Northern England, and Largs in Scotland.

Heron Foods

Heron Foods currently operates 313 stores across England and Wales. This quarter saw limited activity, with 2 new and 4 closed locations. The March openings include a new store in Coventry and a relocated store in Barrow, Cumbria; both will be captured in the next scheduled update release.

Iceland

Iceland’s store network has seen a net decline of 6 this quarter, bringing its total count to 962 stores. This comprises of 760 Iceland stores and 202 stores under the Food Warehouse fascia. One example of recent closures includes the Leigh town centre store, which shut following a lease expiry.

Looking at location types against Geolytix Retail Places, Iceland’s estate remains primarily focused on town centres, with urban centres making up a smaller share at around 20% of the portfolio. Notably, the recent removals of Knowle and Prestwich fall within this category.

Lidl

Lidl has continued its strong growth trajectory in Q1 2026, recording 21 new store openings and reaching a total of 1,056 stores. This reflects consistent month-on-month increases across the quarter, building on the milestone of surpassing 1,000 stores in the UK. Closures were limited to four locations and do not indicate contraction within the portfolio as Huddersfield (Central), Horley, Dereham (Toftwood), and Basildon (Laindon) have all closed as part of relocation strategies, typically moving into larger, higher-capacity sites.

At the start of January, Lidl set out ambitious expansion plans, announcing 19 new stores to open within just 8 weeks. This sits alongside a £40m+ investment programme to modernise more than 70 existing stores, introducing larger formats, upgraded facilities, and energy-efficient features.

Makro

Makro, the UK Cash & Carry retailer, continues to operate 23 stores across the country in Q1 2026, with no changes during the quarter. Its network is geographically diverse, covering a wide range of locations, and continues to serve businesses with its wholesale model.

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer has seen a slight contraction this quarter, declining from 1,057 stores at the end of December 2025 to 1,048 by the end of March. The majority of these closures sit within the Simply Food and Travel formats, which together account for 24% of the overall estate. Recent examples include Luton Airport and Reading Rail, both of which sit within the transient focussed Geolytix Retail Places categories, such as airports (1.42% of the portfolio) and rail stations (4.53%). This pattern aligns with wider changes across the business, including the ongoing programme of café closures and store reconfiguration.

Morrisons

Morrisons continues to see strong growth, with 1,840 in the latest count. This steady upward trajectory has been driven by 22 new sites, offset slightly by 7 closures, resulting in consistent month-on-month growth throughout the quarter.

All of this activity sits firmly within the convenience space, with additions and exits attributed to the Morrisons Daily fascia. In contrast, the larger-format Morrisons network remained unchanged at 497 stores, reinforcing the retailer’s clear focus on expanding its convenience footprint instead.

This direction is further supported by ongoing plans to accelerate franchise-led expansion, with Morrisons targeting the conversion of 250 independent corner shops into Morrisons Daily stores. With ambitions to deliver hundreds of additional convenience locations, the retailer’s strategy remains firmly centred on capturing more local, on-the-go shopping demand.

Planet Organic

Planet Organic continues to operate 8 stores, with the most recent change being a high street relocation in Westbourne Grove, London, at the back end of 2024. The move, just a short walk from its original location, created a larger space, allowing the brand to expand its offering of fresh organic produce and wellness products while continuing to serve its London customer base.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s has continued to expand its convenience-focused market, with 14 new openings this quarter and only one closed. 12 of the new stores were Sainsbury’s Locals, following the common trend of convenience, while the single closure in Tottenham Court Road involved a relocation to a smaller nearby unit.

Over the past 12 months, Sainsbury’s Local has grown consistently, adding an average of around four new stores per month, compared with the larger supermarket format, which has increased by less than one per month. The contrast shows the retailer’s ongoing focus on smaller-format, high-frequency locations.

Spar

Spar has seen a net decline of 17 stores in Q1 2026, bringing its total estate to 2,209, the lowest level since the end of Q1 2025. As a symbol group, where independent retailers operate under the brand, its network is inherently more fluid than other grocers. This typically results in higher levels of both additions and site exits, with exits outweighing new additions this quarter.

Tesco

Tesco has delivered strong growth in Q1 2026, with 28 new stores and no closures, taking its total stores to 2,962 and putting it on track to surpass the 3,000 mark as early as Q2 if it continues to expand at a similar rate. This has been heavily driven by Tesco Express, accounting for 26 of the 28 openings, in line with wider plans to deliver over 70 new Express stores by March 2027.

Over the past 12 months, Tesco Express has expanded at an average rate of just over 7 stores per month, highlighting a consistent and highly controlled convenience-led rollout focused on network optimisation rather than rapid expansion. Geographically, new Tesco locations this quarter have been widely distributed, with a particularly strong presence in London and other major urban areas:

• East Midlands: Edlesborough
• London: Croydon (Morello), Brixton Station, Moorgate, East Dulwich (Lordship Lane), East Finchley Station, Kensington High Street, Rotherhithe Street, Wembley Stadium, Hounslow (London Road)
• North West: Lancaster (Bowerham), Ellesmere Port (Ledsham Village), Salford (Ordsall)
• North East: Newcastle (Pilgrim Street), South Shields (Marsden)
• South East: High Wycombe, Stevenage (Forster Park), Chatham (Victoria Cross Court)
• South West: Barnstaple (Bickington), Bristol (Speedwell), Brockworth
• West Midlands: Coventry (Earlsdon)
• Yorkshire & The Humber: Leeds (Kirkgate), Harrogate
• Scotland: Edinburgh (Bughtlin Market)
• Wales: -

Waitrose

Waitrose continues to operate an estate of 430 stores, up slightly from 429, with no permanent openings or closures during the quarter. The slight increase reflects the temporary closure of Little Waitrose at Shell Lizzie Brice, which has since reopened in January. The retailer maintains a strong presence nationwide, continuing its focus on convenience formats and partnerships with forecourts such as Welcome Break and Shell.

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market, which has been owned by Amazon since 2017, continues to operate 6 stores in the UK, with no changes during Q1 2026. Following the full exit of Amazon Fresh from the market, the retailer has unveiled plans to open six new stores across London between April and June 2026, significantly expanding its presence and bringing a wider range of organic and fresh produce, prepared foods, and speciality items to new communities. The new locations will be:

• Angel, The Mall, 359 Upper Street, The Angel, London N1 0PD: 2 April 2026
• Liverpool Street, Unit 4b-5, Blomfield Street, London EC2M 7BD: 23 April 2026
• Notting Hill Gate, 66-74 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3HT: 14 May 2026
• Wood Wharf, 4 Water Street, Wood Wharf, London, E14 5GX: 28 May 2026
• Monument, Unit 1, 20 Gracechurch Street, London EC3V 0BG: 4 June 2026
• St. James, 57 Victoria Street, London SW1P 2HX: 11 June 2026

Grocery Retailer Opening and Closures in 2026 Q1

Grocery Retailer Openings by Retail Place Type

When looking at new openings by Geolytix Retail Places, there is a clear lack of concentration in any single location type, with only Parades exceeding 10% at 13% (20 of total additions) in Q1 2026. Beyond this, they are spread across a wide mix of location types, with Urban Centres and Town Centres accounting for just over 15% combined. This distribution highlights a relatively diverse set of trading environments rather than reliance on one dominant format, although activity remains anchored in neighbourhood and high-footfall convenience locations.

Grocery Retailer Openings by Region

London and the South East dominated new store activity in Q1 2026, together accounting for almost 30% of all additions. London led all regions with 26 new sites, followed by the South East with 19, reinforcing the continued focus on high-density urban and commuter locations. Strong levels of activity were also seen in Scotland and the South West, each contributing just over a tenth of total new locations.

Summary of 2026 Q1

Q1 2026 has been defined by consistent, convenience-led growth across the UK grocery sector, with the Grocery Retail Points dataset reaching 19,254 locations. A total of 152 stores opened during the quarter, compared to 102 closures. Growth has been largely driven by smaller-format stores such as Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local, and Morrisons Daily, reinforcing the continued shift towards high-frequency, convenience led shopping missions.

Discount retailers remain a major driver of this momentum, while relocation strategies and store modernisation programmes mean many closures reflect optimisation rather than true contraction.

Where can I access the data?

GEOLYTIX tracks 22 grocery retailers and the above analyses those brands. We have been tracking and releasing our Grocery Retail Points dataset as open data for 12 years! You can view and download the data here, just toggle on the Grocery layer. We would love to hear how you use this completely free and open to use data, please tag us on LinkedIn @Geolytix or email us at info@geolytix.com.

Numbers reported are based on Geolytix data, research and openly available information.

Patrick Zirora, Data Analyst at GEOLYTIX

Photo by Scott Warman on Unsplash