Lidl to open first central London store amid £500m expansion
Lidl has announced a £500m expansion plan for London, which will see the grocer open its first store in the West End.
The investment is planned for the next five years, and will enable Lidl to open over 40 new outlets in London, including in Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge and Watford. The new store openings will also create around 1,500 additional jobs across Greater London.
Lidl has also revealed plans for a new store in Fitzrovia, on Tottenham Court Road, near Warren Street tube station. The grocer said it will be its “most central London store”, and will stock its full range of products.
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.
Christian Härtnagel, CEO of Lidl GB, said: “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 £500m 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.”
