// Lidl is looking to overtake Morrisons as the UK’s fifth biggest grocer

// Although Lidl’s UK boss Ryan McDonnell refused to give a timeframe, analysts believe it could overtake Morrisons in 18 months

Lidl has Morrisons in its sights as it looks to become the UK’s fifth largest grocer.

Ryan McDonnell, the UK boss of the discounter, which yesterday revealed that profits had quadrupled last year, said it had the “momentum” to leapfrog its rival but added there was still “a lot of work to be done”.

McDonnell told The Daily Mail that he expects to overtake Morrisons. He said: “We have a very healthy pipeline for our expansion. 

“I am not calculating at what point I am going to overtake, but certainly we have a lot of potential to keep taking market share and enjoy more switching gains.”

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However, retail analyst Richard Hyman told the newspaper that Lidl could overtake Morrisons, which just this year lost its place in the UK’s Big Four supermarkets to Aldi, in as little as 18 months.

Lidl said yesterday that it had taken £58 million of spend from traditional grocers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons in the past month as shoppers seek value amid the cost-of-living crisis.

An extra 770,000 shoppers are visiting Lidl’s stores each week.

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