Aldi announces £1.4bn investment in UK

Supermarket chain Aldi has announced its largest ever package of annual investment to accelerate its expansion in the UK market.

The discounter today (9 September) unveiled a plan to spend £1.4bn over the next two years on lowering prices and opening new stores across Britain.

Aldi said it plans to continue lowering grocery bills for millions of shoppers, having spent almost £100m on cutting the price of over 300 products in the last three months.

The supermarket added that it intends to open 23 new stores and refurbish 100 existing shops before the end of this year, as well as expand its network of distribution centres and update technology infrastructure to support its growth.

Aldi said its focus on lowering prices and opening stores would bring “high-quality, affordable groceries to millions more British families, while creating thousands of jobs and more opportunities for British suppliers”.

Aldi announced its record investment alongside its latest annual results for the 12 months to December 2023, which showed its highest ever period of sales growth – up 16 per cent to £17.9bn (2022: £15.5bn).

The company said its pre-tax profit had increased to £536.7m (2022: £152.6m), driven by record sales combined with greater efficiencies across its stores and central functions compared with the prior year. Reported operating profit increased to £552.9m (2022: £178.7m), representing a margin of 3.1 per cent.

Recent price comparisons by consumer group Which? hail Aldi as undefeated this year as the UK’s cheapest grocer, showing the traditional Big Four are currently on average 14 per cent more expensive.

Aldi said it spent an extra £1.3bn with its 5,000 British suppliers last year, with that amount set to increase further as it established more long-term supply partnerships.

Earlier this year, it confirmed a £750m deal with the family-owned, Kent-based fruit farm, AC Goatham & Son – which will include the first ever ‘Aldi Orchard’ on a 200-acre plot on New Green Farm in Gravesend.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “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.”