Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Join today
Already a member?
Log in
Discount retailer Aldi has pledged to invest £900 million in expanding its warehouse network and opening 40 new stores next year, despite a slight drop in annual earnings.
The German-owned supermarket group reported operating profits falling 1% to £432.9 million in 2025, down from £435.5 million the prior year. The decline came as higher staff pay and price reductions absorbed a 5% surge in overall sales.
Annual turnover rose to a record high of £19 billion across the period.
With 1,092 outlets currently operating in the UK and Ireland, the company confirmed plans for a further 40 branches in 2027 as part of a record £900 million funding commitment for next year.
Britain’s fourth-largest grocer is accelerating its rollout by opening 30 branches over the coming 10 weeks, with new locations including Dumbarton, Newport and Willesden in London.
The business previously stated its long-term aim to reach 1,500 UK sites, maintaining a strategy to “focus on communities cut off from affordable groceries due to lack of local choice or competition”.
Upgrades to logistics facilities and distribution operations are also covered under the planned investment.
Aldi pledged to deliver further price cuts ahead of Christmas, building on a £340 million discounting campaign implemented earlier this year.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “The cost of food remains one of the biggest pressures on households across the country.
“Recent droughts at home and events overseas have highlighted just how fragile our food system is and why food security must be a long-term national priority.
“We’re working hard to make good food more affordable for every family – cutting prices on everyday essentials, signing long-term supplier agreements to help increase home-grown production, and continuing to bring affordable groceries to even more communities through our store opening programme.”
The news of Aldi opening 40 new stores comes just weeks after rival supermarket chain Iceland announced that it would be launching its first store in the Falkland Islands.
The new standalone outlet is scheduled to open in early December on Ross Road East in the capital, Stanley, in partnership with local retailer Kelper Stores, a subsidiary of the Fortuna group.