Edinburgh city-centre branch of Sainsbury's in St Andrew Square to close on Saturday

The supermarket giant’s Local store in St Andrew Square is having to shut down because the building it’s in is going to be redeveloped as a hotel. The company said it was offering staff redeployment to other Sainsbury’s stores.

Sainsbury’s does plan to open another store nearby, in Princes Street, but it is not scheduled to open until spring 2025.

Sainsbury's store in St Andrew Square will close on Saturday | TSPL

The closure of the St Andrew Square store, just behind Jenners, will pave the way for the six-storey building to be converted into Point A Hotel. It was originally designed by architect Sir Basil Spence - famous for Coventry Cathedral - as the new head office of the Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society in 1962.

The developers say they plan to carry out a full internal reconfiguration, devoting the whole building to hotel use. They will refurbish the original entrance, with public areas of the hotel on the ground floor and an "active frontage" facing St Andrew Square.

Sainsbury’s planned new store at 18-19 Princes Street, premises previously occupied by health food chain Holland & Barrett, is slightly smaller than the St Andrew Square store. Sainsbury’s also has stores on Waverley Steps and South Bridge..

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Our St Andrew Square Local store in Edinburgh will close this Saturday evening, as our lease is expiring. We understand that our landlord intends to redevelop the site that includes our store so we are required to vacate it.

“We know this will be an unsettling time for everyone this affects and we have been doing everything we can to support them, including offering opportunities for our colleagues to redeploy to alternative roles within Sainsbury’s.”