German discount retailer Aldi plans to open more UK stores in 2015 than Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons combined, according to a new study released by commercial property research firm IPD and property agent Colliers.
Aldi says it will open retail space of 1.02m sq ft - around 60 shops - this year.
In comparison, Sainsbury's will open 450,000 sq ft retail space, Morrisons is planning for 220,000 sq ft while Tesco has earmarked 170,000 sq ft for new stores.
Marks & Spencer plans to open 600,000 sq ft of retail space while Walmart-owned Asda expects to open 550,000 sq ft. Meanwhile, Aldi's competitor Lidl will open 340,000 sq ft.
The study also revealed how the British grocery sector wll expand by 3.9m sq ft of retail space this year - 54 per cent of this will be for small-sized grocery stores of 3,000-15,000 sq ft, 17 per cent will be convenience-sized stores, and 29 per cent will be the larger, more traditional supermarket sizes.
James Watson, head of UK investment at Colliers, said the research reflects changing consumer habits - carrying out smaller grocery shops more frequently.
Aldi now has more than 500 stores in operation around the UK.
The German discounter was recently named International Retailer of The Year at the Oracle Retail Week Awards in London.
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