Top 5 Biggest Variety & Discount Chains in the UK

What is the largest variety & discount chain in the UK?

B&M is the largest variety and discount chain in the UK in 2026 based on the number of retail locations supplied for this dataset, with 806 stores across the United Kingdom as of July 15, 2026. England has the largest number of B&M locations, with 632 stores, which is about 78% of all B&M stores in the UK.

To establish these figures, the research begins with Google Maps Places API data, which provides an initial list of retail locations for each chain. The individual listings are then checked against the official website of each retailer, using its store finder or location directory where available, to determine whether each location is a valid store. Where the initial count differs from the retailer's publicly reported network, local and national media coverage can be used as an additional reference, particularly reports that state how many stores a chain operates within the UK or another specific market. This process helps separate raw map listings from the validated store count, while the word "approximately" is retained for figures where the available sources do not provide a single precise and consistently reported total.