More stores for discount group

DISCOUNT CHAIN 99p Stores plans to ramp up expansion with another 70 shops over the next two years in a move set to create more than 2,000 retail jobs.

It aims to grow its estate from 240 to 310 by the end of 2015 after securing an extra £25 million in financing from Barclays.

It will recruit around 30 staff for each shop, seeing it take on around another 2,100 workers.

The chain has already grown rapidly in recent years following the demise of Woolworths in 2008.

Nadir Lalani started the chain in 2001 with one store in Holloway, London, helped by sons Hussein and Faisal, before opening a further three stores later that year.

Its estate now sees around two million customers pass through its doors each week and has expanded to include 30 Family Bargains outlets also offering toys and soft furnishings, as well as Euro 50 shops across Ireland.

Hussein Lalani, the commercial director, said the new stores will be opened across the UK, and it will expand further in Scotland, having recently opened its first two shops there.

It will largely focus new stores on high streets, but also look to take space in retail parks with its Family Bargains brand.

Each shop typically stocks more than 5,000 99p products across food, drink, cosmetics, gardening, gifts, pet care, partywear, DIY and toiletries.