UK roundup: latest retailer initiatives and results

In this instalment, our UK analysts offer their take on some of the market’s latest developments and announcements. Here’s what you need to know about:

• Tesco prioritises health with new Group Managing Director of Healthcare

• Lidl updates Lidl Plus rewards

• Chemist Warehouse to enter UK

• M&S re-opens Martlesham Heath store

• EG On The Move makes another forecourt acquisition

• Regional co-op results show impact of 2025 cyber-attack

• Parfetts’ growth defies sector headwinds

Tesco prioritises health with new Group Managing Director of Healthcare

Tesco has appointed Tamara Rajah into the newly created role of Group Managing Director of Healthcare. Rajah will be tasked with developing the retailer’s health, wellness and pharmacy offer as it brings its healthcare teams together into a single unit. Prior to joining Tesco, Rajah spent over five years at Holland & Barrett in roles including Group Transformation Officer and Chief Executive of its Wellness Solutions business.

Senior Insight Analyst, Alex Rowberry’s view: the creation of a Group Managing Director of Healthcare cements the importance of health and wellness to Tesco’s growth plans. It adds an extra dimension to its ‘Need anything from Tesco’ campaign and feeds into one of the retailer’s new strategic ambitions of ‘Meeting more everyday customer needs’. Rajah’s background at Holland & Barrett suggests suppliers can expect a greater focus on NPD and innovation in Tesco’s healthcare ranges.

Lidl updates Lidl Plus rewards

Lidl GB has ended the ‘Coupon Plus’ feature of its Lidl Plus loyalty scheme, replacing it with a points-based system based on schemes introduced in other European markets. Shoppers receive one point for every £1 spent, with points redeemable against free product or money off coupons. To launch the new loyalty mechanics, shoppers receive double points on purchases of fresh fruit for a limited period.

Insight Partner, Dan Butler’s view: the new model benefits shoppers by rewarding every pound spent, making loyalty rewards more accessible to smaller and budget-conscious shoppers rather than just high spenders. It also offers greater choice and immediacy through redeemable points. Expect Lidl to utilise bonus point promotions to encourage healthier choices and purchase of private label ranges.

Chemist Warehouse to enter UK

Australia’s drugstore wholesaler, Sigma Healthcare, has announced it will expand into the UK, with the acquisition of a 75% stake in a number of stores from Greenlight Healthcare Limited. Sigma Healthcare will license the Chemist Warehouse brand and lead the customer-facing retail model, including assortment strategy, store execution, inventory flow and marketing. In parallel, Greenlight will underpin the operating model, managing dispensary services and core back-end infrastructure.

Senior Insight Analyst, Rachel Sibson’s view: Chemist Warehouse is anchored in a clear value proposition, underpinned by consistent price leadership. With more than 550 stores in Australia, and a growing international presence in New Zealand, Ireland, Dubai and China, the retailer has significant purchasing power, enabling it to pass meaningful savings on to shoppers. Its entry signals a new phase of value-disruption in UK health & beauty. Read more about the implications for the UK market here.

M&S re-opens Martlesham Heath store

After a two-month renovation M&S has re-opened its Martlesham Heath store in the format seen in all of its new and renewed stores. This is another piece of the puzzle for M&S’ plan to double the size of its grocery business. The 13,000 square foot store features a bakery, coffee counter, and a cheese barge. The store features the retailers expanded range of M&S Food items, including the items recently added to its ‘Remarksable Value’ range.

Analyst, Seth Russell’s view: this renovation is another step in M&S’ strategy to double the size of its food business. With five stores opened or renewed since March, the retailer is moving quickly and seems to be implementing a more consistent store concept across its estate. Features like the bakery and coffee counter are becoming standard elements of these stores, with the cheese barge making an appearance in a number of stores. M&S currently has strong momentum and is unlikely to slow down as it expands and improves its estate.

EG On The Move makes another forecourt acquisition

EG On The Move, the forecourt business built by Euro Garages’ co-founder Zuber Issa post-Asda, has acquired the Leicester-based dealership operator MPK Garages, adding a further 27 fuel and convenience sites to its network.  MPK sites mostly trade under the Valero, Texaco and Gulf fuel brands with the store-based proposition badged as Nisa and supplied by Co-op Wholesale.  In addition to the completion of its acquisition of 98 sites from Applegreen in March this year this latest deal brings EG On The Move’s total site numbers to almost 180 forecourt locations plus some 200 foodservice concessions.  This further reinforces the business as the third largest fuel dealership operation in the UK after MFG and Rontec.

Insight Partner, Patrick Mitchell-Fox’s view: EG On the Move seems to be following a pattern of development established by the original Euro Garages business, picking up scale through a steady series of acquisitions of parcels of forecourt sites.  Despite the existence of MFG as a standout giant in the dealership sector, this sector remains quite fragmented with thousands of sites still in the hands of smaller businesses.  Therefore, it seems there are still plenty of potential acquisition targets for EG On The Move to pursue ongoing.  In addition to the UK business EGOTM has also concluded a deal to buy some 260 sites in France from EG Group, a transaction expected to complete in the course of the current quarter (Q2 2026).

Regional co-op results show impact of 2025 cyber-attack

Latest result announcements from two English regional co-ops, East of England and Lincolnshire both record falling sales, bearing witness not only to tough trading conditions but also to the operational disruption of the wider co-operative supply chain network caused by the cyber-attack on Co-op systems launched in April last year.  Reporting its full-year trading to January 2026 East of England recorded retail sales of £359m, down 4.7%, though trading was also impacted by the ongoing reshaping of its store portfolio which saw six stores closed, while five new stores were opened.   Meanwhile, Lincolnshire, reporting on the six months to March 2026, saw its retail sales fall 1.5% in the period.

Insight Partner, Patrick Mitchell-Fox’s view: as members of FRTS (Federal Retail Trading Services) East of England and Lincolnshire share in the supply chain structure operated from Manchester and thus suffered the same availability issues that affected Co-op resulting from the 2025 cyber-attack.  The fact that the period reported by Lincolnshire (September-March) falls outside the acute phase of the cyber-attack (April-May 2025) shows that the disruption caused by it has continued to reverberate the through the co-operative supply chain ongoing.

Parfetts’ growth defies sector headwinds

Major retail channel wholesaler, Parfetts continues to post record sales and extend its geographical reach to a growing number of customers as it pursues it ambition to become a fully national operator.  In its latest accounts filed with Companies House Parfetts sales for the year ending June 2025 were £733m, up 5.3%.  This was achieved in spite of a significant downturn in tobacco sales, which still comprise a significant element of wholesalers’ supply to independent retailers.  Key to this growth has been the addition of new depots to Parfetts’ network.  The latest opening in Southampton in September 2025 was too late to contribute to growth in 2024/25, but will ensure 2025/26 gets a boost from new business.

Insight Partner, Patrick Mitchell-Fox’s view: as well as gaining access to new customers with new depots Parfetts has also been adding significant delivery capability to its traditional cash & carry operation.  This has given sites much greater reach and coupled with the successful Go Local retailer store/support package, Parfetts is gaining increasing numbers of loyal customers in regions well beyond its established trading areas.  This includes Scotland, with Go Local stores now appearing in Edinburgh and Glasgow.  With the Go Local network already passed 1,600 stores Parfetts aims to add another 300 to that in 2026.

What to read next: Why Sigma’s Chemist Warehouse and Greenlight deal matters for the UK

 

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