Aldi rewards property agents who help budget grocer find new London sites

Discounter Aldi is dishing out financial rewards to London property agents who help them find new supermarket sites. 

It is part of the German supermarket’s £500m investment into bringing more stores within the M25 with about 100 new stores and over 3,000 job roles planned. 

Aldi, which recently trumped Morrisons as Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, said it is offering property agents a finders fee for recommending a previously unknown site.

For sniffing out an untapped location, Aldi will give a fee of either 1.5 per cent of a freehold price or 10 per cent of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites. 

Aldi is looking for locations big enough for its standard 20,000 sq ft stores, which need around 100 dedicated parking spaces, usually on a prominent main road and with good visibility and access.

In addition, the supermarket said it is also on the lookout for sites to accommodate its Aldi local stores, which are around 5,000 sq ft in size.

Over 10 areas across London have been named as interest for the business, including Bromley, Beckenham, Richmond, Walthamstow, Wanstead and Winchmore Hill. 

Notting Hill, Chelsea, Kensington, Chiswick, Highbury, Hackney and Barnet have also been identified as spots they are keen on opening more sites in.

Jonathan Neale, managing director of national real estate at Aldi UK, said: “We want to make high quality, affordable food accessible to all, but there are still many areas in the capital that don’t have access to an Aldi and, as a result, too many people have to make do with big prices at the traditional supermarkets.

“The locations we’ve identified are places where there is demand for our stores and we are committed to continue investing until we can bring our quality products and unbeatable prices to as many people as possible.”