Aldi creates national real estate team

Aldi has created a new national real estate team as it works towards opening 500 new stores across the UK.

The centralised team is headed by managing director of real estate Jonathan Neale who has worked with the supermarket for 21 years.

Aldi is currently looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-town sites with capacity for a 20,000 square foot store with around 100 parking spaces.

It is particularly interested in sites in London and the south east where it wants to open 200 stores, although it also has a requirement for new shops up and down the country.

Aldi recently announced a long-term plan to operate 1,500 stores across the UK.

Neale said: “This year we opened our landmark 1,000^th store and we have the most ambitious expansion plans of any major supermarket. Centralising our real estate team and making it easier for the real estate sector to deal with Aldi is the first step in accelerating progress towards our goal of opening a further 500 new stores. We have clear, consistent requirements and want to partner with land-owners, landlords and developers.”

Neale is being aided in the search by Colliers, the retailer’s national advisors.

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