Lidl GB has revealed hundreds of target locations for new stores across Great Britain as it steps up one of the supermarket sector’s most ambitious expansion programmes.
Lidl is seeking sites from Garthdee in Aberdeen and Aldgate in London to Ystradgynlais in Wales and Windsor in Berkshire, as it looks to bring its low-price model to more communities.
The target locations are listed in Lidl’s latest Site Requirements Brochure, published today, as the grocer continues to search for freehold, leasehold and long-leasehold opportunities in prominent, high-footfall locations.
Lidl said it is also offering a competitive finder’s fee to anyone who identifies a previously unknown site that goes on to become a new store.
The supermarket is looking for sites with strong accessibility, with its property requirements including catchments of at least 20,000 people, sites from 18,000 sq ft, and more than 100 customer parking spaces where possible.
Lidl GB chief real estate officer Richard Taylor said: “At Lidl GB, we currently have one of the most ambitious store opening programmes of any supermarket and we are more committed than ever to bringing our high quality and low priced products to even more communities across the country.
“All of our stores deliver more than just affordable products. Each one also brings quality jobs, opportunities for British suppliers to showcase the best of our home grown produce and support to local good causes in the communities each one serves. In uncertain times, shoppers and communities can count on us.”
The new site search follows Lidl’s announcement earlier this month that it will open more than 50 stores over the next 12 months as part of a £600m investment in its British infrastructure. The rollout is expected to create close to 2,000 jobs.
Upcoming openings include Abbots Langley near Watford, Warrington in Cheshire and Thornbury in Gloucestershire, which are all due to open this summer.
The expansion push comes after Lidl opened its 1,000th store in East Grinstead last November, as the retailer continues to build scale in the UK grocery market.
The discounter said each new store would create local jobs, with entry-level hourly pay starting at £13.45 nationally and rising to £14.45 with length of service. In London, hourly pay starts at £14.80, rising to £15.30.
Lidl is also strengthening its logistics network to support its growing estate. Construction of its new warehouse in Leeds is progressing, with operations due to begin next year, while the retailer has also submitted plans to expand its Belvedere distribution site in London.
The supermarket said its expansion would also support local communities through surplus food redistribution, with every store linked to local charities through Neighbourly.
Lidl said it donated the equivalent of 18.5m meals in a single year, supporting 6.8m people in need.
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