Lidl to open 12 new UK stores in huge expansion - see full list of locations

20 February 2024 , 12:48

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Lidl wants to open 12 new stores (Image: South Wales Echo)

Lidl has revealed plans to open 12 new stores across the UK as part of a huge shop expansion.

The budget supermarket is seeking investment partners as it looks to raise £91.1million. Lidl wants the investors to build the 12 new supermarkets, which it will then rent from them.

Lidl wants the new stores to come with a 25-year lease, which will then be subject to rent reviews every five years. A spokesperson for Lidl said: "We have long taken a flexible approach to delivering new sites with the core aim of giving all households access to a Lidl store."

Where are the new Lidl stores opening?

Lidl, which already has 960 stores in the UK, is hoping to open new shops in the following locations:

• Alexandria
• Birmingham
• Bovey Tracey
• Bristol
• Crediton
• Downham Market
• Hull
• Manchester
• Northampton
• Reading
• Redcar
• Saffron Walden

It comes after Lidl last year revealed its preference for new store locations. In an update in April 2023, the discounter said it was looking for “prominent locations” with “strong pedestrian or traffic flow” measuring more than 1.5 acres for standalone shops and up to four acres for mixed-use sites.

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Each location should be able to accommodate 18,000 and 26,500 sq ft and 100 dedicated car parking spaces. Lidl said it is targeting town centre, or edge of centre locations, and retail parks in particular.

In more retail news, Lidl recently revealed it is replacing its paper pricing tags with electronic shelf labels across all its UK stores. Every Lidl store should have the new labels by the end of the year. It comes following a successful trial successful trial in over 35 locations last year which included sites in Epsom and Tooting.

Lidl says the move will help "drive efficiency" in its stores because workers will spend less time manually updating the price tags and will be able to focus on things such as helping customers and restocking shelves. In a survey conducted by the supermarket, over two-thirds of shoppers surveyed said they didn’t notice the change which Lidl says helps "reinforce" of making the switch.

Alongside this, Lidl claims the change will save 206 tonnes of carbon each year through paper and packaging reductions - the supermarket's ink usage also be drastically minimised.

Levi Winchester