Lidl GB has announced an expansion programme that will open ten new stores and create around 400 new jobs across the UK before Christmas.
The expansion plan includes locations at Berwick Green, in Bristol, Bovey Tracey, in Devon, and Stirchley, in Birmingham, along with three new openings in London.
A further three existing stores will reopen after undergoing upgrades and extensions.
Sale And Leaseback
The announcement comes on the back of Lidl’s exchanges on a sale-and-leaseback deal worth £70 million, with a joint venture between Roadside Real Estate Plc and Meadow Partners, which includes 12 new stores.
In London, the three new stores include locations at Hoxton, Forest Gate and Caterham.
The update comes after the discounter opened a new store in the seaside town of Worthing at the end of the summer, followed by the opening of its new Fulham store in September.
Big Ambitions
The three existing stores that have either been relocated or refurbished and extended include Chessington, Connah’s Quay and Dagenham Heathway.
Richard Taylor, chief development officer at Lidl GB, said, “Our plan to open ten new stores before Christmas demonstrates our continued commitment to providing more communities across the country with access to affordable, quality food, as well as employment opportunities, but we still have big ambitions for our expansion plans: to open hundreds more Lidl stores in the future.
“Our teams are constantly scouring the country for new sites, identifying opportunities not just in towns where we don’t currently have stores, but also in areas where existing stores are experiencing increasing demand.
“Our sale-and-leaseback deal is just the latest example of how we’re continuing to expand our footprint across the country, ensuring that even more households can benefit from a Lidl store nearby.”
