MARKS & Spencer is expected to announce more store closures this week as it reports another year of falling sales.

The company is tipped to unveil plans to shut 40 of its larger outlets that sell both food and clothes, according to reports, but the retailer declined to confirm if any of its North-East stores were at risk under plans to shut town centre stores and open more Simply Food outlets on retail parks.

Last month M&S closed its store on Silver Street in Durham city centre as it switched investment to its branch at the nearby Arnison Centre. The strategy has led to concerns for the long-term futures of branches in Darlington, Stockton and Middlesbrough.

M&S has shut a number of stores this year, as it attempts to improve the performance of its troublesome clothing division. The closures are part of a plan announced in 2016 to slash the amount of shopfloor space devoted to its clothing and home ranges.

At the time M&S said it would axe about 60 stores across the UK - possibly affecting around 2,000 jobs. But The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that the retailer could shut an additional 40 of its larger outlets that sell both food and clothes - meaning 100 shops would close overall.

City analysts forecast that like-for-like sales in food could have fallen by as much as 1.1% last year, although consensus estimates put the figure as being down 0.2%.

If comparable food sales come in negative in the fourth quarter, it would represent a year of decline in the division at a time of rapid change in the sector.

The rise of Aldi and Lidl, Tesco’s takeover of Booker, and Sainsbury’s proposed merger with Asda have piled further pressure on a sector grappling with falling consumer confidence and rising costs.

HSBC analyst Paul Rossington said: “We have previously argued that focus on convenience/food-to-go and a premium own-label offer afforded M&S a defensible point of differentiation.

“However, such has been the increase in price competition, and expected increase in competition on premium lines, that the M&S price premium now looks increasingly stretched.

M&S has previously described the food arm as exhibiting “ongoing under-performance”, with chief executive Steve Rowe saying he will slow expansion of the Simply Food chain as the group battles to restore its high street fortunes.

The retailer’s troubled clothing arm, which includes womenswear, is on course to see like-for-like sales fall by 1.1%.

M&S has been announcing store closures and shutting distribution centres as part of the efficiency drive.