IKEA opens first high street store in London and plans £1 billion investment in the city

IKEA has opened its first UK small scale urban store in King Street in London's Hammersmith, and is planning to invest £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in the city over the next three years.

After growing its portfolio of warehouse-style stores located outside of urban hubs, IKEA has now started to shift investment into smaller, inner-city locations. The next store of this kind will open in the former Topshop store on Oxford Street in Autumn 2023, with the furniture giant purchasing the space for £378 million.

The Hammersmith store is about a quarter of the size of a traditional IKEA location. The location stocks around 1,800 lines, which can be bought directly. Another 4,000 bigger items are on display in the store and are available to order, with the entire range of11,000 items available for delivery.

IKEA said that it will use London as a "test-bed for innovation" and that it will "trial and develop new formats and initiatives."