HIGH-END supermarket chain Waitrose has announced its first ever franchise deal with leading motorway services operator, Welcome Break. The agreement, announced last Wednesday, will see two new stores open – one on the M25 in South Mimms

HIGH-END supermarket chain Waitrose has announced its first ever franchise deal with leading motorway services operator, Welcome Break.

The agreement, announced last Wednesday, will see two new stores open - one on the M25 in South Mimms and the other on the M40 at Oxford Services. Both stores, which are 2,500sq ft, will create 50 jobs in total.

The South Mimms store, which is due to open on May 15, will offer more than 850 food lines and will operate from 7am until 10pm every day of the year.

In addition to everyday items such as sandwiches, salads and drinks, customers will be able to carry out a "top up" shop on items such as bread, milk and ready meals.

Waitrose managing director Mark Price said it was a "very exciting" time for the company and added: "It's a challenging economic environment, but we continue to grow our share of regular visitors."

Rod McKie is the chief executive of Welcome Break.

He said: "We are delighted that Waitrose has chosen Welcome Break for its franchise operation in the UK and are looking forward to opening the two stores in May.

"The addition of Waitrose will enable us to further satisfy the requirements of the travelling motorist."

The deal follows the retailer's January announcement that up to 4,000 new partners were to join Waitrose with the opening of 22 new stores in 2009.