B&M

A UK variety discount retailer with hundreds of B&M and Heron Foods stores, run from Speke, Liverpool.

About B&M

B&M is a UK variety retailer. Its stores sell a wide mix of branded groceries, homeware, DIY, garden, toys, pet products and seasonal goods at low prices. It also owns Heron Foods, a chain focused on frozen food and groceries, with some Heron stores converted to B&M Express.

B&M was founded in 1978 by Malcolm Billington and Brian Mayman, whose surnames gave it the name. Its first store opened in Cleveleys, near Blackpool, in Lancashire. Simon and Bobby Arora bought the business in December 2004, and it listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2014. Its parent, B&M European Value Retail, is based in Jersey, but its UK operation is run from Liverpool.

B&M says it focuses on "selling top branded products at sensational prices". The company states that "Development is at the heart of what we do here at B&M" and says it offers development programmes for every job role, with support from a Learning and Development team to help people move into management or into other parts of the business. We did not find a longer formal mission statement.

In the UK there are hundreds of B&M stores across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. A Wikipedia summary reports 764 UK B&M stores and 338 Heron Foods stores as at October 2025, but another figure on the same page says 787, so treat these as approximate. B&M says it has over 700 stores, more than 35,000 staff and over 4 million customers a week. Its head office is in Speke, Liverpool, alongside large distribution centres there, one of 620,000 square feet from 2010 and another of 500,000 square feet from 2014.

B&M names three areas of work: Retail, Distribution and the Support Centre. That covers store assistants and managers, warehouse and driving roles, and head office teams such as buying, merchandising, finance, IT, marketing, property and HR. We did not find a published description of culture beyond the points above, so ask staff how it feels to work there. B&M bought Heron Foods in 2017, so colleagues may work in either fascia, and it opened its 400th store in 2014 and its 700th in Wrexham in 2022, showing how quickly the store network has grown. That growth keeps creating store, distribution and head office jobs, including new store opening teams and logistics roles. Check the B&M careers pages for current roles and locations.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Branded groceries, homeware, DIY, garden and seasonal products at low prices.', 'title': 'B&M stores'}
• {'desc': 'Frozen food and grocery stores across the UK.', 'title': 'Heron Foods'}
• {'desc': 'Smaller convenience-style stores converted from Heron branches.', 'title': 'B&M Express'}

Key facts

• Founded 1978 by Malcolm Billington and Brian Mayman; first store in Cleveleys, Lancashire
• 764 UK B&M stores and 338 Heron Foods stores reported as at October 2025 (Wikipedia; figures differ)
• Over 35,000 staff and 4 million customers a week (company profile)
• Head office and distribution centres in Speke, Liverpool

Website: www.bmstores.co.uk