Marks & Spencer to Open 15,327 sq ft Food Hall at Dubai Festival City in December

Marks & Spencer will open its largest food hall outside the UK at Dubai Festival City in December, carrying the full M&S Food range for the first time outside Britain. GulfNews reported the announcement on November 2.

Inside the Dubai Festival City Food Hall

The 15,327 sq ft (1,424 sq m) store will hold more than 3,500 core M&S products and 500 locally sourced lines, supplied by more than 200 UK suppliers and a network of local producers across produce, protein, grocery, bakery and meal solutions. Fresh M&S flowers will make their international debut, and the Middle East will get its first M&S Patisserie. A Fruit Butcher, sushi counter, rotisserie chicken station, coffee shop and pizza oven complete the line-up.

Wassim Arabi, President of Retail at Al-Futtaim Group, said: "The launch of this new Foodhall is an important milestone in that journey, bringing an exciting, elevated food shopping experience to our customers." Mark Lemming, Managing Director of International at Marks & Spencer, said: "By bringing a broader range of M&S Food together under one roof, we can become a bigger part of our customers' everyday lives."

Al-Futtaim signed the M&S franchise in 1997, and the first Dubai store opened in Deira in 1998. In 2007, M&S built its largest store outside the UK at Dubai Festival City Mall, and a 2017 refit added an M&S Café, the brand's first table-service dining option in the region.

Marks & Spencer's Food Division at a Glance

According to akta.pro company records, Marks & Spencer reported £17.4 billion in sales for 52 weeks, with the food division growing 7% and now accounting for 54% of total revenues. Adjusted profit before tax fell 23.8% to £671.4 million, from £881.1 million the prior year, due to an April 2025 cyber attack. The company recorded £131 million in cyber attack response, recovery and remediation costs.

Earlier Moves in Marks & Spencer's Expansion

In June 2026, construction of a new M&S Foodhall at Fox Valley shopping centre in north Sheffield reached a milestone with the building's steel frame in place ahead of an expected autumn opening, according to akta.pro company records. In May 2026, the company began construction on a £340 million automated National Distribution Centre in Northamptonshire, targeting a 2029 opening. In October 2026, M&S confirmed it would close its Alton Simply Food store after more than 20 years when the lease expires next January, Express.co.uk reported.

What Comes Next for the Dubai Store

The Dubai Festival City food hall is scheduled to open in December.