Waitrose will this week to open the first of five shops in the Channel Islands, its first company-owned shop outside the UK.

The 21,000 sq ft shop in St Saviour, Jersey, on Thursday comes just a week after the grocer opened its first shop in Bahrain.

Unlike Bahrain, which is operated as part of a licensing agreement with Fine Fare Food Market, the Channel Islands shops will be managed and operated solely by Waitrose.

Waitrose will open three shops in Jersey and two in Guernsey, bought from Sandpiper.

Waitrose has established two new operating companies in the Channel Islands to run the shops, Waitrose Jersey and Waitrose Guernsey.

The retailer has sourced 500 local products for the five shops including sticky toffee puddings, Jersey ice cream and Guernsey cider.

Mark Price, Waitrose  managing director said: “We’re thrilled to be opening in the Channel Islands, as it’s an area in which we’ve been keen to establish Waitrose shops for many years.   These branch openings support our ambition of taking the Waitrose brand to more people in more places and the investment we’ve made in systems and structures gives us a platform for future international growth.”

Waitrose own label products have been sold in the Channel Islands for more than a decade.

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