Lidl to open 10 more shops in Britain before Christmas

Lidl is set to open ten new stores in the UK before Christmas arrives and one could be close to you.

Lidl currently has about 960 stores in the UK but is looking to expand to more than 1,100 across England, Wales and Scotland.

The new stores will create around 400 jobs and reach thousands more households, the retailer has said.

The expansion includes shops in Berwick Green in Bristol, Bovey Tracey in Devon, and Stirchley in Birmingham, as well as three in London's Hoxton, Forest Gate and Caterham.

Lidl's chief development officer, Richard Taylor said that the plan to open ten new stores demonstrates 'commitment to providing more communities across the country'.

Lidl is now the sixth biggest UK supermarket with a 8.1 per cent share of the grocery market, according to the latest figures from Kantar.

That puts it just behind Morrisons, which has an 8.6 per cent share, and German rival Aldi, which has grown its share to just under a 10th.

The opening of the new stores also includes the reopening of relocated or refurbished shops in Chessington and Dagenham in London, and Connah's Quay in Wales.

Meanwhile, Lidl said it has agreed to a deal to sell 12 new shops, which are in the process of being built, for £70 million.

Investment group Roadside Real Estate, through its joint venture with Meadow Partners, will acquire the stores, which are set to open by February next year in locations including Manchester and Saffron Walden.

The deal means Lidl will get an immediate cash boost and then pay rent on the shops, which will be on 25-year leases. 

In November last year it was revealed that Aldi and Lidl were winning over the Waitrose crowd, with affluent families making up 54 per cent of their shoppers.

The German-owned budget chains beat mainstream supermarkets on price despite the fact they have seen some of the steepest increases in the past year, according to Which? research. 

At the same time, the chains have built a reputation for quality as a result of regularly matching and beating more expensive products from rivals in blind taste tests.

Lidl Great Britain's chief development officer, Richard Taylor, said: 'Our plan to open 10 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.'