Marks & Spencer has acquired a 50% stake in Marks & Spencer Marinopoulos for E50m (£38m).

M&S Marinopoulos operates 38 M&S stores in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria but as part of the joint venture, the companies will open up to 50 new stores over the next few years.

“We have an exciting opportunity to open many more Marks & Spencer stores in Greece and the Balkans and our joint venture with Marinopoulos will mean we can really put M&S on the map in this part of the world,” said Carl Leaver, director of international business at M&S.