Press release -
NEWCASTLE CENTRAL STATION WELCOMES M&S SIMPLY FOOD
A new M&S Simply Food has opened at Newcastle Central Station. The new outlet is operated by concession partner SSP, a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide.
Conveniently located on the main concourse, the new 1,230sq. ft. store is the latest to be begin trading, following the opening of the largest M&S store at a station at London’s Waterloo in June.
Marks & Spencer Simply Food stores bring M&S’s exceptional quality and innovative food products to convenient travel locations. The new store at Newcastle Central will stock an extensive range of food and drink lines including products for customers on-the-go and for travellers looking to pick up food essentials on their way home.
Tim Hedley-Jones, Virgin Trains East Coast major projects director said: “We’re really excited to welcome M&S to Newcastle Central Station.
“The new store will offer even more choice for our customers when arriving and departing from our newly refurbished station – one of the busiest in the country.”
Bob Johnson, national retail operations director of SSP UK, said: “We’re continuously aiming to increase the choices available to rail travellers, and the M&S Simply Food concept has already proved highly popular at other railway stations and airports across the UK.
"This is the latest in a number of M&S Simply Food stores under SSP’s management, and we are delighted to be continuing our long-standing relationship with the brand. I’m certain the arrival of the new M&S Simply Food store at Newcastle Central will be welcomed by both travellers and those who live and work locally.”
Richard Austin, Head of Simply Food Programme at M&S, said “As part of our 250 Simply Food store opening programme, sites located in transport areas are a key part of this strategy.
“We are pleased to open our latest station store in Newcastle.”
The store will operate 7am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday and 8am to 10pm on Sunday.
-ENDS-
Topics
- Business enterprise
Categories
- regional news
- routes & stations
- east coast
Regions
- England
Contact the Virgin Trains East Coast Press Office: 0116 366 3988 during office hours (09.00 - 17.30 Mon-Fri). Outside these times, and for urgent media enquiries only, please call 08700 005151 and ask for the duty Virgin Trains East Coast press officer to be paged.
Virgin Trains East Coast is the brand name of InterCity Railways Ltd (ICR), which is owned by Stagecoach Group (90%) and Virgin Group (10%). Virgin Trains East Coast began operating services on the East Coast Main Line on Sunday 1 March 2015, serving key UK cities including London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. In November 2014 the Department for Transport awarded ICR a new franchise until at least 31 March 2023.
Virgin Trains East Coast is committed to delivering a high speed, high quality service with new services, faster and more frequent journeys, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. More than £140m is to be invested in delivering improved service and a more personalised travel experience for customers.
Visit the Virgin Trains East Coast Media Centre at: http://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/media-centre for the latest news and images.
STAGECOACH GROUP
• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 38,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,300 buses and coaches. Around 2.8 million passenger journeys are made on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Group’s business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It is also the majority shareholder (90%) in the new Virgin Trains East Coast franchise and has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, airport express services, contracted, charter and sightseeing services.
