Discount big brand retailer TK Maxx is seeking suitable sites as it looks to open stores across London - including one in Havering.

Several retail property agents have recently been sent a list of 28 locations across the capital that the chain would consider opening in.

Upminster is one, with other sites in north London including Holborn, Archway, Barnet and Elephant & Castle.

According to the Evening Standard, TK Maxx is working with property consultancies KLM Real Estate and McMullen Real Estate, to find 10,000 to 30,000 square feet of space.

The lower end of that range is much smaller than recent deals inked, including a 30,500sq ft store just outside London in Watford, where parent company TJX has its European base. 

As of 2023, TK Maxx has around 58 shops in London and around 350 across the UK.

The expansion could bring much a needed boost for once-bustling British high streets which have faced eroding profits, resulting in empty stores, after being struck hard by the double-whammy of Covid and cost-of-living crisis.

Figures released in January showed that 47 shops closed for good every single day in 2022, in what was the worst 12 months for the high street since 2017.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the amount spent on retail in the UK dropped by 0.4 per cent in November last year, despite industry analysts expecting a 0.3pc rise.

TK Maxx says that it stocks new products for "up to 60 per cent less than the RRP", and provides a "significant discount to the prices in a department store or on the high street".