M&S has opened two new Foodhalls in London and Leeds, following plans to grow its grocery business through bigger, full-range stores.

The company opened the doors to a transformed Foodhall at Guiseley Retail Park in Leeds and a new site at Green Retail Park in Sydenham, south-east London, on 16 September.

Its revamped Guiseley store spans 15,000sq ft, making it 60 per cent larger than the previous site, and stocks more than 1,500 M&S products.

The expansion has also introduced a larger in-store bakery and coffee counter and created 40 additional jobs.

Meanwhile, the newly built Sydenham Foodhall covers 14,600sq ft and features an in-store bakery and coffee counter alongside a dedicated wine wall and flower market.

M&S recently confirmed plans to increase the size of its Food business and encourage more shoppers to use the retailer for their full weekly grocery shop, rather than predominantly for treats and top-up purchases.

M&S Food managing director Alex Freudmann said earlier this year that the retailer was investing in “bigger, better stores” as it works towards doubling the size of its Food business.

The strategy has seen M&S increasingly roll out larger-format Foodhalls capable of carrying all or most of its grocery range.

It opened its largest standalone Food store to date in Godalming, Surrey, in July, with the 22,000sq ft site featuring an expanded bakery, produce area, cheese counter, chicken shop and wine department.

Earlier this year, M&S also opened large-format Foodhalls in Hatfield and Luton and unveiled plans for a further site in Farnham as it stepped up investment in its estate.

It invested more than £300m in its wider store rotation and refurbishment programme, as it looks to move into larger sites and modernise existing shops.

The latest openings also add to M&S’s expansion across London, where it has been growing its footprint through new and upgraded locations.

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning