Waitrose to create 2,000 new jobs

British supermarket chain Waitrose is planning to employ 2,000 new staff as it looks to expand its footprint across the south east and parts of northern England.

Waitrose will open 16 new stores from the spring this year, seven of them smaller convenience outlets and a new warehouse in Coulsdon, south London to deal with online orders. That facility will replace Waitrose’s existing depot in Acton, west London.

The new stores will be in Oxford, Guildford, Basingstoke and Wollaton in Nottinghamshire; Milngavie in Dumbartonshire; Bagshot in Surrey; and Kings Cross in London – which will also house a new cookery school.

The expansion comes on the back of a good performance by Waitrose over the Christmas trading period as the grocer recorded a 2.8% rise in sales at established stores and a 26.3% increase in sales via Waitrose.com.