Discount Retail Chain Aldi UK is looking at expanding its stores to a number of priority locations across the capital, including Notting Hill, Chelsea and Richmond.
The discounter‘s announcement follows its long-term plan to invest £500m to open 500 more stores, with specifically 100 more sites within the M25, bringing up Aldi’s total to 1,500.
To help identify sites, the supermarket is offering property agents a finder’s fee of either 1.5% of a freehold price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites, for recommending a previously unknown site.
Specifications include locations big enough for its standard 20,000sq ft stores with 100 dedicated parking spaces, while Aldi Local store format will require around 5,000sq ft in size.
Aldi UK managing director of national real estate Jonathan Neale said: “We want to make high quality, affordable food accessible to all, but there are still many areas in the capital that don’t have access to an Aldi and, as a result, too many people have to make do with big prices at the traditional supermarkets.
“The locations we’ve identified are places where there is demand for our stores and we are committed to continue investing until we can bring our quality products and unbeatable prices to as many people as possible.”
Aldi explained the new sites would be within the M25 due to the strong demand for the supermarket in the capital and would create around 3,500 new jobs in the region.
The announcement of thousands of potential new job opportunities follow the grocer vowing it would “not be beaten on pay” as it upped its worker’s pay within the capital to £13.65 an hour, making its store colleagues the highest paid in the UK.
