M&S is set to open 10 new convenience stores this year while renewing up to 50 as it aims to further grow its £1bn convenience business.

By the end of the year, the retailer aims to be present in more than 40 UK train stations, including the two new stores at Ealing Broadway, which opened last month, and Belfast, set to open in October, as well as in hospitals and airports across the UK.

It comes amid the upmarket retailer celebrating the reopening of its Liverpool Street Station Mezzanine store – the first-ever M&S convenience store at a mainline railway station.

Among other changes, the customer journey at the Liverpool Street branch has been transformed, to include a revamped chilled and global section, fresh baked bakery products and a refreshed Food On the Move range.

Alongside these new features, shoppers have been offered additional payment points, with three new self-service tills in a bid to reduce waiting times.

M&S Food MD Alex Freudmann said: “Our renewal programme is all about making sure we have the right stores in the right place and with the right space and this applies to our convenience stores as well.

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“These stores offer the perfect range for customers on the move looking for sandwiches, salads and snacks to eat now, as well as meals for dinner, such as our infamous Dine In offers. The convenience channel complements our wider business and provides a halo effect so it’s important that customers have the same fantastic shopping experience.

“The new renewal format for our convenience stores maximises these small spaces to deliver the M&S Foodhall experience for the missions our customers are shopping for as they travel. By renewing and growing our convenience estate, we’ll continue to deliver for our customers however, whenever and wherever they want to shop with us.”

The latest news follows M&S revelation at last week’s AGM that found that the grocer was introducing two new flagships in Bristol and Bath, as it reassured shareholders that it was not “abandoning the city completely”.

Speaking about the new store openings, CEO Stuart Machin said: “Our store rotation strategy is all about making sure we showcase the very best of M&S – and that touch of M&S magic – from stores which excite and inspire.

“We’ve seen great results so far where we have relocated stores, in city centres and I’m delighted with this new £38m investment in the great cities of Bristol and Bath.”