Ocado M&S: Partnership, Differences & Shopping Guide

Ocado and M&S are separate companies linked through a joint venture that has shaped online grocery delivery for millions of UK households since 2020. The partnership has weathered performance disputes, a withheld £190 million payment, and a stock that has lost two-thirds of its value in five years.

First order discount: 25% off food + 3 months free deliveries (min £60) · Partnership entity: Ocado Retail · Shares drop: 66% over five years

The key metrics below summarise the partnership structure and financial commitments.

Is Ocado owned by M&S?

No — Ocado is not owned by M&S, and M&S does not own Ocado. What exists is a 50/50 joint venture called Ocado Retail, which combined M&S’s food expertise with Ocado’s delivery technology and infrastructure.

Partnership details

The arrangement took shape in May 2019 when the two companies announced a joint venture valued at £750 million. M&S paid £562 million upfront, with up to £197 million contingent on performance targets being met. M&S funded this through a £600 million share sale and a 40% dividend cut. The joint venture launched M&S products on Ocado.com in September 2020, giving M&S Food its first major online-only delivery channel beyond its own click-and-collect operations. M&S products now represent 29% of Ocado Retail’s product range — the highest proportion yet — and the partnership covers approximately 80% of UK households.

Ocado Retail joint venture

Ocado Retail operates as a separate legal entity, jointly owned and managed. Ocado Group provides the technology and logistics, while M&S supplies the food brand and product development. The arrangement replaced M&S’s previous partnership with Waitrose, which ended in September 2020 as the new venture launched. Ocado Retail CEO Hannah Gibson has denied split rumours, saying both parties remain focused on improving the customer position and growing the business together.

Can you order M&S from Ocado?

Yes — M&S Food is available exclusively through the Ocado platform. More than 5,000 M&S lines are stocked, covering groceries, fresh produce, ready meals, and seasonal ranges. New customers can access a 25% discount on their first order using code 25OCADO, with a minimum spend of £60 and free deliveries for the first three months.

Ordering process

Shopping works identically to any Ocado order: browse by category, add items to your basket, and check out. M&S products appear alongside Ocado’s own-brand lines, with M&S accounting for nearly 48% of fresh food categories on the platform. Approximately 95% of M&S’s addressable range is now available through Ocado, with the product lineup expanding by around 20% year-on-year.

Delivery slots

Ocado offers same-day, next-day, and scheduled delivery slots depending on your postcode. Delivery coverage has expanded significantly since the M&S investment — Ocado Retail increased its capacity by over 50%, adding new distribution centres in Bristol, Purfleet, and Andover. The company claims 99% of items are delivered as promised, with 95% arriving on time, according to Diginomica.

First order offers

New customers can claim 25% off their initial food shop plus three months of free deliveries. The minimum order value is £60 before discounts apply. Existing Ocado customers can also add M&S products to their regular orders — there is no separate M&S-only account requirement.

What is the difference between Ocado and M&S?

Ocado is a technology and logistics company that built its own grocery delivery network. M&S is a food retailer with a heritage brand built on quality perception. The joint venture brought M&S products onto Ocado’s delivery infrastructure — but the two companies retain distinct identities, business models, and product philosophies.

Brands and products

Ocado stocks its own-label range alongside M&S lines and third-party brands. M&S Food has historically positioned itself at a premium tier, emphasising ingredients and provenance. Ocado’s own-label competes more directly with mid-market supermarket ranges. On Ocado, M&S products make up 29% of the range — a substantial presence but not the entirety of the offering.

Own brands similarity

Ocado’s own-brand lines and M&S products share some characteristics in terms of packaging quality and product positioning, but Reddit users and review communities frequently note that M&S ready meals and snacks command a loyalty premium that Ocado’s equivalent lines do not. M&S invests heavily in product development, while Ocado’s own-label focuses on value and standard supermarket positioning.

Service models

Ocado’s model centres on automated warehouses and route-optimised deliveries, prioritising efficiency and scale. M&S operates a hybrid model combining high-street stores, food halls, and online delivery. The partnership with Ocado gave M&S a dedicated last-mile delivery solution without building its own infrastructure — a strategic trade-off that has yielded both growth and friction.

Why does M&S still have a problem with Ocado?

The partnership has faced persistent strain centred on performance targets and payment disputes. M&S withheld a conditional payment of approximately £190 million in 2024 after concluding that Ocado Retail had failed to meet agreed benchmarks — a move that sent Ocado shares down 4.66% in a single session.

Ongoing issues

The withheld payment was not a minor administrative delay. Ocado Group CEO Tim Steiner publicly stated that the company had “a very solid case to get full payment,” and Ocado threatened legal action against M&S, citing Covid-19’s impact on customer activity as a mitigating factor. The dispute exposed the risks of performance-based earnouts in joint ventures — when targets are missed, the financial consequences ripple immediately.

Times article insights

Reporting from CityAM and Euronews detailed how M&S management grew frustrated with Ocado Retail’s inability to scale efficiently after the pandemic-driven surge in online grocery demand faded. Competition from established supermarket delivery services intensified, and post-Covid demand normalisation hit the joint venture harder than anticipated. Ocado Retail reported a loss before tax of £374.5 million, down from £393.3 million in 2023 — still deeply unprofitable despite the reduction.

Why is Ocado falling?

Ocado shares have declined 66% over the past five years, reflecting persistent losses, competitive pressures, and investor scepticism about the timeline to profitability. The payment dispute with M&S added near-term fuel to a longer-running decline.

Stock performance

The 4.66% single-day drop following the payment withholding announcement was significant but not the root cause. Ocado Group’s stock has struggled since the pandemic-era surge in grocery delivery demand faded. The company has pursued automation and job cuts — planning 500 tech team reductions — while reducing headcount by 1,000 staff last year, in a bid to narrow losses.

Market challenges

Ocado faces competition from Amazon Grocery, Tesco’s delivery expansion, and the resurgent Waitrose online operation. The joint venture’s losses — while improving — remain substantial at £374.5 million annually. Meanwhile, Ocado Group is ending exclusivity with international partners such as Kroger by the end of 2025, a move that could bring new revenue streams but also signals the model has not scaled as planned internationally.

The comparison below highlights how the two entities differ across core business dimensions.

What we know — and what we don’t

The verified facts are substantial: the joint venture structure, the payment disputes, the stock decline, and the operational scale. What remains less clear involves forward-looking projections and the precise resolution status of the withheld payment.

Confirmed facts

• Ocado-M&S partnership exists via Ocado Retail joint venture
• M&S Food available on Ocado platform with 5,000+ lines
• UK-based service, 80% household coverage
• £190 million payment withheld in 2024
• Ocado shares declined 66% over five years

What’s unclear

• Whether the £190 million payment dispute has been resolved
• Exact performance targets M&S cited for withholding
• Ocado Retail’s post-2025 profitability forecast

What the key players say

“We’re all just really focused together, across M&S, Ocado Group, Ocado Retail, on improving the customer position on growing this business.”

— Hannah Gibson, CEO Ocado Retail (Euronews)

“The company believed it had ‘a very solid case to get full payment’.”

— Tim Steiner, CEO Ocado Group, speaking on legal threat over withheld £190 million (CityAM)

“It’s exactly five years since M&S Food launched on Ocado. To celebrate, we’ve turned our iconic carrier bag into an Ocado van!”

— Alex Freudmann, Managing Director M&S Food (Retail Tech Innovation Hub)

“Relationships are strong and we continue to all be really focused on the future potential of the business.”

— Hannah Gibson, CEO Ocado Retail (Global Banking & Finance)

The pattern across these statements reveals a deliberate public unity: both CEOs publicly affirm the partnership’s strength even as behind-the-scenes disputes play out. Alex Freudmann’s celebration of branded delivery vans five years on suggests M&S remains institutionally committed to the venture — despite the payment withholding.

The outlook for Ocado M&S

The Ocado-M&S joint venture is neither a failure nor the triumph originally envisioned when announced in 2019. It is a work in progress under structural pressure — loss-making, delayed on its technology roadmap, and managing an unresolved payment dispute. Yet the partnership covers 80% of UK households, M&S products grow in volume share, and both sides publicly reaffirm their commitment.

The implication for investors and shoppers diverges: Ocado Group investors face a prolonged profitability question with concrete milestones — a delayed tech platform, ongoing job cuts, and a stock down two-thirds. For M&S Food shoppers, the practical difference is limited: the service works, the products are available, and new customers get a meaningful first-order discount. The next 18 months will determine whether the partnership transforms into the online grocery force it promised or settles into an uneasy stalemate.

For Ocado Group shareholders, the 18-month window represents a make-or-break period where continued losses could trigger further strategic reassessment.