Aldi plans 40-store move despite earnings pressure

Discount supermarket Aldi has pledged to invest £900 million in 40 new stores and its warehouse network, despite seeing annual earnings dip lower.

The German-owned chain reported operating profits down one per cent at £432.9 million in 2025, against earnings of £435.5 million the previous year as investment in prices and a rising wage bill offset a five per cent increase in sales.

Turnover lifted to a record £19 billion over the year.

Aldi, which already has 1092 shops across the UK and Ireland, said it would open another 40 stores in 2027 as part of a £900 million record investment plan.

The UK’s fourth-largest grocery chain said it was opening 30 new stores over the next ten weeks alone as it ramps up its expansion programme, including Dumbarton, Newport and Willesden, in London.

The group previously said it wants to reach 1500 shops across the UK with a drive to “focus on communities cut off from affordable groceries due to lack of local choice or competition”.

The investment plan will also include work on its warehouse and distribution network.

Aldi also said it would continue cutting prices in the run up to Christmas, following a £340 million price cut campaign so far 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.”

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