Waitrose reveals plans for new stores in region

Nigel Keen, property and development director, said the upmarket supermarket chain wants to double the size of its business over the same period.

"Yorkshire is a natural home for Waitrose," he said in an interview. "Waitrose is a brand that 60 per cent of people of its target customers don't have access to. We want to be a competitive business."

Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership, hopes to establish new stores in places like Leeds, Sheffield, York, Wetherby and Ripon, according to a spokeswoman.

The plan would lead to a multi-million pound investment in the region, creating hundreds of new jobs.

Waitrose has opened six supermarkets in Yorkshire since 2004 in Harrogate, Otley, Sheffield, Willerby, Meanwood and York; the last two opening in the last two months.

The retailer will open its seventh next week at The Core shopping centre in Leeds - its first convenience store in the region. The three openings have created 466 jobs. Waitrose employs 1,137 in total in Yorkshire.

The siting of the next stores will depend on finding viable locations, said the spokeswoman.

Mr Keen, who is responsible for the partnership's property portfolio and growth strategy, said the food retail sector of the commercial property market remains buoyant despite differences elsewhere in the market.

"It always will be because everybody is trying to grow space," he said, citing plans by Tesco and Sainsbury's to expand by 1m sq ft a year.

In the wider commercial property market, the former construction director at Tesco said that "regional splits are more diverse than ever", with commentators calling the bottom of the market in London and speculating that 2013 could be a significant year for growth.

On the consumer side, he said: "People are already shopping in a recessionary mode. People are being very careful with what they spend now. Customers are not foolish. They know how to look after their purse."

He said the spending cuts would be spread out over a longer period than many people expected and so the UK would not likely see sharp falls in economic activity. He predicted a "really rough" few years for the construction sector if, as expected, the public sector continues to contract.

Latest industry data showed that Waitrose's growth for the last quarter was up 8.6 per cent.

In the 12 weeks to October 30, the partnership, which is owned by its employees, saw like-for-like sales excluding petrol up 4.4 per cent.