Lidl To Invest £500m in London Expansion

Lidl has today announced a £500 million expansion plan for London.

The investment is planned for the next 5 years and will help the retailer expand across the capital. Adding to its current estate of 88 stores within the M25, this £500million commitment will enable Lidl to open over 40 new outlets in the capital, including in Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge and Watford.  These new store openings will also create around 1,500 additional jobs across Greater London in the long term.

Lidl has also revealed plans for a new store in Fitzrovia, on Tottenham Court Road, near Warren Street tube station. This will be Lidl’s most central London store and with a 1,300m² sales area, will stock its full range of products, including its highly popular middle aisle items and in-store baked goods.

Included within Lidl GB’s London investment plan is its new head office, the construction of which has already begun in Tolworth, south west London. With 250,000 sq. ft. of office space, the building will accommodate the retailer’s 800 head office employees, providing support for its growing store network.

The supermarket recently confirmed that it would also be expanding operations at its distribution centre in Belvedere, which services Lidl stores across South London. Investment in the warehouse, which first opened in 2001, will further support the discounter’s growth in the capital. This is in addition to a new distribution centre planned near Luton and will be the fourth to service Greater London. 

Christian Härtnagel, Chief Executive Officer of Lidl GB, commented: "It’s coming up to 25 years since we first launched in London, and in that time we’ve grown to almost 90 stores, employing more than 5,000 people. London is at the heart of our growth plans across Great Britain, and we are proud to be in a position where we’re continuing to create new jobs. Our £500 million investment reflects the scale of opportunity we have to bring our quality produce to even more of the capital’s communities, at prices that make it affordable to everyone.”

Lidl GB’s Chief Development Officer Ingo Fischer, added: “We are incredibly excited about our plans to open a new Lidl store on Tottenham Court Road, right in the heart of London. This comes as a direct result of continued customer demand for the Lidl offering across the capital, and joins a pipeline of new stores planned for the near future. These will be supported by our investment of our operations and infrastructure, including a new distribution centre near Luton, the expansion of our Belvedere warehouse and, of course, our new London HQ.” 

Lidl opened its first stores in Great Britain in 1994 and has grown to employ more than 22,500 people nationwide. The supermarket currently has 760 stores and 13 warehouses across the country.

Source : Insight DIY Team and Lidl

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the largest UK home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.