Fresh doubts over Shrewsbury Waitrose scheme
Fresh doubts have been cast over plans for a new Waitrose store in Shrewsbury after the supermarket chain switched its focus to revamping existing stores.
The John Lewis Partnership said in its half-year results that it had taken a £25 million hit to its profits after writing down the value of a number of sites on which it now no longer plans to build.
While it did not reference Shrewsbury directly, with the plans still in limbo the latest announcement appears to make it less likely that the development will go ahead.
"Including the exceptional item of £25m for the write-down of property assets that we now no longer intend to develop and related costs, operating profit was down 28.9 per cent to £96.3m," the partnership said in its update on Waitrose.
"We opened seven new branches in the first half of the year, five core supermarkets and two convenience branches, and we closed one convenience branch.
"In the second half and beyond our Modern Waitrose strategy continues as we plan to increase both the depth and pace of investment in our existing stores.
"As we shift the focus of our investment towards our existing branches the rate of new space growth will slow."
John Lewis Partnership posted a 14.7 per cent slide in its overall pre-tax profits to £81.9m in the half-year, citing "deep structural changes in the retail market".
The group said "competitive pricing", increasing pay and investment held back profits in the six months to July 30.
Chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield said the results were not linked to the EU referendum result.
Waitrose already has a small branch in Pride Hill in Shrewsbury, plus a supermarket in Newport, and had been expected to be trading from a new 30,000 sq ft store on the former site of Percy Thrower's Garden Centre in Oteley Road by now.
It was originally expected to open in 2014, but the plans were delayed again in January.
Waitrose then warned in March that its plans "may not be viable" if a new Lidl store was built nearby. That proposal is still going through the planning system.
Sainsbury's already has a supermarket nearby at Meole Brace, and a new M&S Food Hall opened on the same retail park last year, adding to competition.
Sales at the upmarket grocer increased by 2.2 per cent to £3.2 billion in the first half, but like-for-like sales fell one per cent with the firm pointing to a "challenging" market.
British supermarkets are embroiled in a bitter price war as they slug it out to win back market share and compete with German upstarts Aldi and Lidl.
