Marks and Spencer has opened a new food shop and bakery at Southmead Hospital in Bristol. The M&S Food store welcomed customers for the first time on Thursday (December 5), with the retailer’s much-loved mascot Percy Pig making an appearance.
The new branch replaces the former Amigo shop on the ground floor of the Brunel building. It features an on-site bakery, fresh fruit and vegetables, snacks, drinks and toiletries, with a Christmas range also available during the festive period.
North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), which runs Southmead, said the new addition to the hospital would “offer greater choice and quality to patients, staff and visitors alike”. The hospital’s managing director Glyn Howells said: “Bringing M&S to the Southmead site has been an ambition of the Trust for several years, so we are delighted to have finally made this dream a reality.”
Tony Hudgell, director of operational estates and facilities at NBT, added: “The Hospital Company (THC), Equans and the Trust, along with One Retail, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, and our other partners, have worked tirelessly to transform Amigo into a fantastic new M&S Food and bakery outlet and I want to thank everybody involved for their hard work throughout this process.
“I’m confident our patients, staff and visitors are going to love the changes and we look forward to welcoming people to the new shop just in time for Christmas.” Amigo closed on October 14.
The trust said the site has undergone several changes since then. The new facility has doubled in size and includes eight self-service tills, nine fridges and a bakery display cabinet, which will be filled with freshly baked bread, pastries and treats every morning.
The new outlet will be managed by One Retail, part of the food and support services business Compass Group UK & Ireland, which is commissioned to provide retail facilities inside the Brunel building on behalf of North Bristol NHS Trust.
One Retail has invested more than £800,000 into the new site. More than 30 jobs have also been created as part of the project, including staff transferred from the former Amigo shop, the trust said.
Andy Jones, managing director at One Retail, said: “We are delighted to open M&S at Southmead Hospital. It’s an excellent facility and we have worked hard to create an environment that is welcoming for NHS staff, patients and visitors.
“We know it can make a big difference to those at the hospital to have access to good food and drink facilities, and it’s been a great opportunity to enhance and widen the food offer available on site.” M&S Food is open from 7am-8pm daily, on the ground floor of the Brunel atrium.