Lidl names eight Suffolk towns 'areas of interest' as finder's fee offered to anyone that identifies suitable site
Lidl has revealed several Suffolk locations are 'areas of interest' for potential future store openings and is offering up to £22,500 to anyone who helps identify sites.
The discount supermarket giant has highlighted eight 'desirable' Suffolk towns in its Spring 2022 Site Requirements Brochure including Bury St Edmunds, Hadleigh, Halesworth, Ipswich (Northwest, West and Woodbridge) and Lowestoft (North and South).
Mildenhall, Saxmundham and Sudbury have also been earmarked as locations 'requiring new stores'.
Meanwhile, Ipswich's Handford Road store and the Stowmarket shop on Bury Road have both been noted for the possibility of future relocation.
While stores are not guaranteed to open in any of these areas, the supermarket chain plans to 'double' their portfolio and invest £1.3 billion in expansion across 2021 and 2022.
The retailer has revealed it is offering a finder's fee of up to £22,500 to anyone that identifies a suitable site for a new Lidl store
The fee is either 1.5% of the total freehold purchase price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leaseholds.
Requirements for a site include a town centre or edge of town centre location, main road frontage, easy access and strong pedestrian or traffic flow and freehold, leasehold or long leasehold opportunities.
The ideal site would also be between 18,000 and 26,500 sq ft with at least 100 dedicated car parking spaces. Over 1.5 acres would be needed for a standalone store and up to four acres for mixed-use schemes.
Richard Taylor, Chief Development Officer at Lidl GB, said: “We know that the majority of British shoppers still love doing their shopping in person and we are as committed as ever to opening new stores and enhancing our existing ones. We’re opening an average of one new store a week, which is incredible, and our teams have done a phenomenal job of keeping that pace going over the last couple of years.
"But there are still communities up and down the country that are telling us how much they want – and need - a Lidl store. We work with some of the best people in the industry to identify new sites, but we also know how engaged our future and existing customers are and we want to build on this.
"Our finder’s fees are, therefore, available to absolutely anyone that can identify a viable option for a new store that we’re not already aware of, and we welcome any suitable suggestions that will help up us to meet our ambitious target of 1,100 stores by the end of 2025.”
Since the beginning of 2022, Lidl has already opened 23 new stores, including in Warwick, Hounslow and Straiton. In March 2022 it became the 6th largest supermarket in the UK.
Suffolk residents who know of potential sites are encouraged to check details against Lidl’s site requirements and contact the supermarket’s Property team. For more information, visit the website: www.lidl.co.uk/about-us/property.
