SPAR Walton Park enters a new era under Hunts’ ownership after major £365,000 refit

Three generations of the Hunt family proudly opened their latest SPAR store at Walton Park near Preston on Thursday after a £365,000 comprehensive refurbishment.

Lawrence, Kevin, and Jack Hunt reopened the doors of the vibrant new-look neighbourhood store in Millwood Road on Thursday after a complete floor to ceiling renovation was finished in just 10 days.

Central to the improvements at SPAR Walton Park to better serve the community is a vastly increased fresh food range, including fruit and vegetables, which has doubled in size.

The addition of fresh, high-quality meats supplied by Bamber Bridge butcher Mercer’s is another positive store development achieved through the refit.

A brand-new Cheeky Coffee machine has been added to the store, the range of chilled wines and beers has been significantly extended, and the frozen food section now includes the popular Cook branded premium frozen ready meals.

SPAR Walton Park has an enhanced parcel offer too with Evri and Collect+ services, and the store will be added to both Deliveroo and JustEat platforms imminently for convenient q-commerce shopping.

Also coming in November is the exciting addition of a Post Office counter which will complete the transformation and make SPAR Walton Park a destination store.

Modern fixtures and fittings such as electronic shelf edge labels give a clean feel to the store, and adding to the modern aesthetic is bright LED lighting throughout and eco-friendly modern refrigeration.

Other changes have seen works carried out on the customer car park, the entrance has been moved to create better accessibility to the store, and once inside, compact, low-level shelving has improved visibility.

Kevin Hunt, Managing Director of Lawrence Hunt & Co. Ltd, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the results at SPAR Walton Park. It is stupendous, and through the major investment we have put into its refurbishment, I think we have created the best and most modern convenience store in the area.

“As a family business, we have thought for 25 years that if the site ever became available for acquisition, we would love to own it. It is in a fantastic location, and with Roy Kellett stepping away from retail earlier this year, we were fortunately able to complete a deal and take SPAR Walton Park forward into a new era.

“The completion of this refurbishment is something of retail dream for us, and despite the challenging economy, we have been confident in investing in the store for the benefit of community. We are heavily supporting it at launch with a big neighbourhood leaflet drop full of headline deals and offers.

“While the store has been overhauled, there will be familiarity for local customers as we have retained and retrained the same friendly team of staff. We are looking forward to welcoming the community back into the store and providing them with a transformed shopping experience.”

Lawrence Hunt & Co. Ltd is based at offices above SPAR Penwortham in Liverpool Road, and the business has 23 stores across the North West of England employing around 500 people.

The family business is in its fourth generation and has been associated with SPAR since 1957.

The stores are serviced by James Hall & Co. Ltd, a fifth-generation family business, which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.