After three years of rapid expansion, Morrisons Daily is forecast to decline its convenience estate due to growing costs, Lumina Intelligence’s latest Convenience and Wholesale Market report finds.
Meanwhile, Premier is forecast to continue its expansion in 2026 and is likely to have more than double the outlets of any other fascia by the end of the year.
Go Local is also expected to continue growing quickly, overtaking Best-One in terms of outlet count in the next year.
Spar UK is set to see further estate declines this year, as is Bargain Booze.
Top 10 fascia profiles by outlets
1. Premier
2025 outlet count: 5,009
2026F outlet count: 5,369
25-26F % growth: +7.2%
MD: Colm Johnson (MD of Booker retail group)
Key supply chain partnerships: Tesco/Booker Wholesale
News: Premier reached a major milestone in November 2025, opening its 5000th store. It also added more stores than any other fascia in the last year. Premier’s growth has been built on opening smaller format stores, designed around running efficiently, reducing labour and energy usage. This strategy is set to continue through 2026 and beyond.
2. The Co-operative group
2025 outlet count: 1,982
2026F outlet count: 2,038
25-26F % growth: +2.8%
CEO: Kate Allum (Interim CEO)
Key supply chain partnerships: Nisa, Costcutter
News: Co-Op had a challenging year in 2025, having to deal with a severe cyberattack which had a significant impact on revenue for the year. It is focused on improving performance in existing estate but is also opening a number of new stores, with 11 opening across one week in November 2025.
3. Spar
2025 outlet count: 2,261
2026F outlet count: 2,158
25-26F % growth: -4.6%
MD: Michael Fletcher
Key supply chain partnerships: C J Lang & Son, Henderson, James Hall & Co, AF Blakemore, Appleby Westward
News: SPAR South Africa continues to offload the UK part of the business, with 71 stores sold to AF Blackmore. This takes AF Blackmore’s total estate to over 1,000 stores, further extending its position as the UK’s largest SPAR operator.
4. Londis
2025 outlet count: 2,540
2026F outlet count: 2,624
25-26F % growth: +3.3%
MD: Colm Johnson (MD of Booker retail group)
Key supply chain partnerships: Tesco/Booker Wholesale
News: Londis has rolled out its ‘Store Of The Future’ concept to more than 270 locations already and expanded its ‘Everyday Low Pricing’ initiative to 600+ products. Like the rest of the Booker Group, it also had a strong year in recruitment, growing outlet counts by 3% and is forecast to maintain this rate of growth in 2026.
5. Tesco
2025 outlet count: 1,692
2026F outlet count: 1,747
25-26F % growth: +3.3%
CEO: Ashwin Prasad
Key supply chain partnerships: Booker
News: Tesco Express continues to grow its footprint with 60 new Express stores opening their doors in 2025. It also remains on track to deliver another 70 by March 2027. Beyond expanding the estate, Tesco plan to focus more on price, sustainability and hyper-personalisation which will be underpinned by a partnership with Adobe to utilise its AI capabilities.
6. Best One
2025 outlet count: 1,744
2026F outlet count: 1,759
25-26F % growth: +0.9%
MD: Dawood Pervez (MD of Bestway Wholesale)
Key supply chain partnerships: Bestway Wholesale
News: Best-One shifted its strategy to focus on other high-margin categories such as food-to-go as the disposable vape ban entered into force in 2025. Integrating more additional services such as parcel lockers and upgrading digital store fronts have also been put in place to attract local shoppers.
7. Go Local
2025 outlet count: 1,700
2026F outlet count: 1,937
25-26F % growth: +13.9%
MD: Guy Swindell and Noel Robinson (Parfetts)
Key supply chain partnerships: Parfetts
News: Parfetts has focused on expanding Go Local’s estate, making it one of the fastest growing fascias in 2025. This is set to continue, with an ambition to open 300 stores in the next year. Expansion will focus on priority areas such as the south of England and Scotland.
8. Costcutter
2025 outlet count: 1,454
2026F outlet count: 1,465
25-26F % Growth: +0.8%
MD: Dawood Pervez (MD of Bestway Wholesale)
Key supply chain partnerships: Bestway, Co-op, Nisa, Simply Fresh
News: Costcutter agreed a new supply agreement with Co-Op, ensuring it maintains access to 2,000+ Co-Op own label products. After a difficult year, where tobacco sales fell significantly, focus is shifting towards food-to-go. Bestway also heavily investing in cost price reductions to help retailers.
9. Morrisons Daily
2025 outlet count: 1,650
2026F outlet count: 1,590
25-26F % growth: -3.6%
CEO: Rami Baitieh
Key supply chain partnerships: Morrisons
News: More Card loyalty trials were successful and the program has been rolled out into franchise stores in 2025, helping to drive value and engage customers. After opening 90 stores in 2025, Morrisons has announced a big turnaround strategy, with a similar number of stores to close. Rising costs have been cited as a key factor in this decision.
10. Nisa
2025 outlet count: 1,330
2026F outlet count: 1,376
25-26F % growth: +3.5%
MD: Katie Secretan (MD Co-Op Wholesale)
Key supply chain partnerships: Co-Op
News: Nisa announced a revamped strategy to simplify the commercial model, strengthen retailer loyalty and bring its brand closer to Co-Op. In early 2026 the proposition was launched in a store in Warrington, following a trial in Leeds. Two months later, over 100 stores are in the pipeline to move to the new proposition too.
Challenges and opportunities
While most retailers have proceeded with planned investments, a rising number are now postponing them, the report shows. Across convenience retail and symbols this sits at 21% and 23% respectively, highlighting persistent caution.
Delayed investments are usually related to store refurbs and staffing, representing these areas as the most flexible levers in times of uncertainty.
Inflation and rising costs remain both the biggest threat to store profitability and retailers’ top business concern, driven primarily by food and drink price inflation. Growing uncertainty around the Deposit Return Scheme is adding to this pressure.
This creates a clear opportunity for wholesalers and manufacturers to act as trusted partners, helping retailers understand the implications, clarify options and navigate an increasingly uncertain operating environment with greater confidence, Lumina Intelligence says.
According to the report, impulse behaviours remain central to convenience retail, with soft drinks leading as the primary driver of footfall, sales and profit. This is closely followed by crisps and snacks, and confectionery, highlighting the sustained strength of immediate consumption occasions.
Price-marked packs are an important part of convenience strategy; and expanding and clearly signposting these ranges, supported by strong availability and in-store visibility, will be key in helping them meet shopper expectations and convert value-seeking behaviour into incremental spend.
