Lidl has revealed plans to open 50 news stores across the UK this year as part of a huge expansion.

Lidl is one of the UK's 'big six' supermarkets competing with Tesco, Asda, Morrison's Sainsbury's and Aldi.

The move will open up 2,000 new jobs across the UK.

The discount supermarket announced the openings as part of a £1.3 billion investment, with the aim of launching 1,000 new stores by 2022 - 50 of which will open to customers by December this year.

New stores across the UK

Lidl is looking at opening its new sites in town centres, the edge of city centres, retail parks and metropolitan locations across the country.

The company said the new shops will all feature modern tech, with solar panels and electric vehicle charging points for customers to use.

Lidl has not yet confirmed the exact locations of the new sites, but has published a list of areas it is targeting.

These include:

  • Brighton
  • Oxford
  • Bristol
  • Birmingham
  • Warwick
  • Leicester
  • Manchester
  • Liverpool
  • Warrington
  • Cardiff
  • Newport
  • Edinburgh
  • Dumbarton
  • Shotts

Christian Härtnagel, at Lidl GB said: “We are calling on developers and landlords up and down the country to help find potential sites for us to build Lidl stores, which demonstrates the continued ambition we have to further expand our store portfolio across the nation.

"Despite the challenges of the past year, we still managed to meet our ambitious target of opening, on average, one new store per week across Great Britain."

Aldi also expanding

Lidl’s investment will match the £1.3 billion being invested by Aldi to create 4,000 new jobs and open 450 new stores by the end of this year.

The rival supermarket has said it hopes to open more than 400 shops in England, 30 in Wales and 20 in Scotland.

Locations being targeted include Brighton, Oxford and Bristol in the south, Birmingham, Warwick and Leicester in the Midlands, and Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington in the north.

In Wales, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea have been highlighted as target areas, while in Scotland, Edinburgh, Dumbarton and Shotts are being considered for the new stores.

Aldi is also looking at town centre and edge of city centre locations for the new developments, with each store to stretch across 20,000 sq ft and include around 100 parking spaces.