Thousands up for grabs if you can find a site for Lidl

Supermarket giant Lidl is offering thousands of pounds for help as it launches a search for new sites across the North East.

The firm, which is investing £1.3billion in its expansion nationwide, is offering a finder’s fee to members of the public who successfully identify suitable locations for new stores.

And one of the locations the company is looking to expand in is Sunderland.

The fee will be either 1.5% of the total freehold purchase price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leaseholds, which would equate to £22,500 for a completed £1.5million site purchase.

Lidl’s locations across the country where it is interested in acquiring sites also include Chester-le-Street, Jarrow, Berwick and Prudhoe.

Since the beginning of 2022, the firm has opened 23 new stores across the country, and in March it became the sixth-largest supermarket in the UK.

ChiefDevelopmentOfficer RichardTaylorsaid:“Weknow the majority of British shoppersstilllovedoingtheirshopping in person and we are as committed as ever to opening newstoresandenhancingour existing ones.

"We’re opening an average of one new store a week and our teams have done a phenomenal job of keeping that pace going over the last couple of years.

"Buttherearestillcommunities up and down the country that are telling us how much they want a Lidl store. We work with some of the best people in the industry to identify new sites, but we also know how engaged our future and existing customers are and we want to build on this.

"Our finder’s fees are, therefore, available to absolutely anyone that can identify a viable option for a new store that we’re not already aware of.”

Site Requirements: *prominentlocationswith easy access and strong pedestrian or traffic flow;

*freehold, leasehold or long leasehold opportunities;

*unitsizesbetween18,000 and26,500sqftand100+dedicated car parking spaces;

*1.5+ acres for standalone stores or up to 4 acres for mixed-use schemes;

*town centre or edge of centre and retail parks.

. More information can be found here: www.lidl.co.uk/ about-us/property