Supermarket Tesco has today (Feb 9) outlined its store growth ambitions for 2026 as it plans to bring great quality products, at exceptional value, to even more communities across the country.
The supermarket opened 60 new Teso Express stores in 2025 and is on track to deliver over 70 more Express stores before March 2027.
Tesco’s growth has been boosted by the acquisition of five former Amazon Fresh stores in London. These sites in Kensington High Street, Hounslow, Moorgate, Aldgate East and Wembley will reopen as Tesco Express stores before the summer.
In 2026, new Express stores are also planned for a wide range of areas and local communities including Bickington (Devon), Pontrhydyrun (Torfaen), Strabane (County Tyrone) and Wallyford (East Lothian).
At the same time, Tesco is also expanding its large store estate. Following the successful openings of new superstores in Ripon in November and Harrogate in December, two further large stores will open in Scotland in 2026, in Pitlochry and Heartlands.
"As one of the UK’s leading retailers, we support jobs and local economies up and down the UK, and as we grow our store network we’re delighted to have the opportunity to serve even more people, in even more communities.
“We are hugely excited about the year ahead and looking forward to meeting our customers where they are with great quality, exceptional value and brilliant customer service," Nick Johnson, Tesco Group Property Director, said.
Tesco’s new low carbon concept superstore in Harrogate has created around 120 new jobs and has been built using innovative design, technology and building methods to reduce its environmental impact.
Sustainability features include a timber frame which emits less carbon during construction than a steel one, solar panels to generate electricity for the store, and the latest heating and lighting systems to reduce energy consumption.