Aldi investing £800m in Britain to fuel expansion and create jobs

Aldi-to-invest-800m-in-British-stores-and-suppliers.jpg
Aldi now has more than 1,000 stores in the UK. Credit: Aldi

Supermarket chain Aldi has announced plans to invest £800m to further accelerate its expansion in Britain.

The retailer is opening 23 new stores across the country over the next 16 weeks, while it has just introduced £100m worth of price cuts on more than 300 products.

Aldi said that its focus on lowering prices and opening stores would help create thousands of jobs and more opportunities for food and drink manufacturers and suppliers.

In addition to the new locations, Aldi is refurbishing 100 existing stores as well as expanding its network of distribution centres and updating technology infrastructure. The retailer currently has more than 1,000 stores and has plans in place to eventually scale to 1,500 stores across the UK.

Aldi spent an extra £1.3bn with its 5,000 British suppliers last year, and recently confirmed a £750m deal with Kent-based fruit farm AC Goatham & Son.

‘Biggest ever annual investment in Britain’

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, commented: “British shoppers are voting with their feet and choosing Aldi as their first-choice supermarket. We’re responding with our biggest ever annual investment in Britain. 

“For every £1 of profit generated last year, we’re investing £2 this year – opening more stores and building the supply infrastructure to bring high-quality, affordable groceries to millions more families the length and breadth of Britain. 

“We’re also investing at record levels to cut prices, reward our amazing colleagues and support more causes in our local communities. All while creating thousands more jobs and even more opportunities for our growing base of British suppliers and farmers.”

He added: “As we head towards the Christmas trading period, we’re all set to launch our biggest and best-ever seasonal range, including hundreds of premium range products at unbeatable prices for our customers.”

The investment was announced alongside its latest annual results for the 12 months to December 2023, which showed sales increased by £2.4bn to £17.9bn.

To learn more about health and safety within the food and drink manufacturing sector, register now for our exclusive editorial webinar on safeguarding your factory and supply chain.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The session is tailored for health and safety directors who are looking to enhance their strategies, mitigate risks and ensure their supply chains are resilient and compliant.