German supermarket chain Lidl is offering a finder’s fee to anyone who can identify suitable sites for new stores across the UK, as the retailer aims to reach 1,100 stores by 2025.

Announcing the initiative on Tuesday 26 April, Lidl said it will pay finders a fee of either 1.5 per cent of the price of a freehold purchase or 10 per cent of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites.

As The Grocer points out, for a completed purchase of a £1.5 million site, this would equate to £22,500.

Demand is particularly high in London, where Lidl already has 100 stores. The discount grocer said it hopes to double its presence in the city and surrounding areas and introduce another 100 stores.

As well as areas for standalone stores, the supermarket is also looking for spaces in shopping centres, on high streets, and retail parks.

The sites will ideally be in close proximity to public transport links, in town centres, and may be with or without car parking facilities.

The retailer has published an extensive list of desired locations across the UK, including major cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Swansea and Liverpool.

The project is part of a £1.3 billion investment in expansion, as research by Kantar named Lidl the sixth largest supermarket in the UK last month.

It currently has more than 900 stores in the UK after opening 23 new stores since the beginning of the year.

Richard Taylor, chief development officer at Lidl, said the supermarket is opening an average of one new store every week.

“But there are still communities up and down the country that are telling us how much they want – and need – a Lidl store,” Taylor said.

“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, and we welcome any suitable suggestions that will help up us to meet our ambitious target of 1,100 stores by the end of 2025.”

Members of the public who believe they know of potential sites can find more details about the initiative here.

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