Aldi has confirmed plans to open more than 450 new stores in the UK - and it’s released a “wish list” of locations for the expansion.
In total, the budget supermarket says it wants to open more than 400 shops in England, 30 in Wales and 20 in Scotland.
Places that Aldi is targeting in England include Brighton, Oxford and Bristol in the south, Birmingham, Warwick and Leicester in the Midlands, and Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington in the north.
In Wales, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea have been highlighted as key areas, while Edinburgh, Dumbarton and Shotts are being looked at as key sites for new stores in Scotland.
You can see a full list of “wish list” locations at the bottom of this article.
The areas Aldi is looking at include freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites that are suitable for development.
The supermarket says each area should be around 1.5 acres and able to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store with around 100 parking spaces.
Aldi currently has over 900 shops in the UK and opened its first store here in 1990.
The plans for expansion come after Aldi pledged to invest a record £1.3billion by the end of 2021 and create 4,000 jobs.
Last September, Aldi recorded an almost 50% jump in its pre-tax profits during its latest financial year as its sales passed the £12billion mark.
Ciaran Aldridge, national property director at Aldi UK, said: “We have been investing in Britain for more than 30 years now, but we know that there are still areas that either do not have an Aldi at all, or that need another store to meet customer demand.
“Shoppers are increasingly looking to get unbeatable prices on their weekly shop without compromising on quality.
“That’s why, more so than ever, we’re keen to explore all opportunities to open new stores across the country.”
Aldi 'wish list' of new store locations
The full list of areas Aldi is targeting include:
100 sites in the South East, including Brighton, Oxford and Reading
71 sites in the South West, including Bristol, Plymouth and Swindon
54 sites in the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Warwick and Worcester
61 sites in the East Midlands, including Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham
38 sites in the East of England, including Cambridge, St Albans and Hemel Hampstead
50 sites in the North West, including Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington
11 sites in the North East, including Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland
35 sites in Yorkshire, including Middlesbrough, Harrogate and Halifax
20 sites in Scotland, including Edinburgh, Dumbarton and Shotts
30 sites in Wales, including Cardiff, Newport and Swansea
