Lidl to open 40 new stores in a move that will create 1,500 new jobs
DISCOUNT supermarket Lidl is planning to open 40 new stores, creating 1,500 jobs over the next five years.
The move is part of a £500million expansion plan, and will see Lidl opening its first store in central London next summer.
Located on Tottenham Court Road, near Warren Street tube station, the supermarket's first store in London's zone one will include a 1,300m² sales area.
It will stock its full range of products, including its popular middle aisle items and goods baked in store.
This will be followed by 39 more stores in locations around Greater London including Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge and Watford.
But Lidl couldn't confirm where the rest of the new store locations will be when contacted by The Sun.
The move will add to its current estate of 88 stores within the M25 and 760 across the UK.
The plans also include Lidl's previously announced new head office in Tolworth, south-west London, and the expansion of its Belvedere distribution centre.
Minimum salaries for Lidl staff are set at the Voluntary Living Wage and they start at £10.55 in Greater London and £9 outside the capital.
Lidl opened its first stores in the UK in 1994 and now has more than 22,500 employees nationwide.
The supermarket's UK chief executive Christian Hartnagel 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 £500million 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."
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Earlier this year, Lidl hiked pay packets for staff for the fourth year in a row.
And a year ago, the supermarket announced plans to create 1,000 more jobs as it opened five new stores.
While in Barcelona, a Lidl branch sacked a manager for working too hard.
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