Wates Smartspace has completed work on a retail fit-out at M&S Bluewater in Dartford.

Delivered while maintaining full trading to the food hall, the Wates team created a temporary retail space overnight to allow a seamless and uninterrupted fit-out programme.

The project saw Wates Smartspace take an eight-phase food hall fit-out and reduce the phases in the programme by 75%, delivering the complete fit-out and temporary store in just two phases.


Work began in January this year and included the full fit-out and extension of the existing food hall to create a revamped 25,440 square foot Foodhall, including a large bakery, fresh produce section and a new Mai Sushi counter. It also included the installation of a living cork wall and a new 'Fill Your Own' station where customers can stock up on refillable products to reduce plastic use.

Richard Evans, Key Account Director for Wates Smartspace, commented: "A retail fit-out project would usually be delivered in multiple phases, with the staggered closing off of sections to complete the works. Done in this way, we enable retailers to maintain operations throughout the works. For M&S Bluewater, the team took this a step further and mitigated disruption for colleagues and customers by creating a temporary store for the project’s duration."