BUDGET supermarket chain Aldi has announced that Helensburgh is among 19 locations across Scotland being considered for a new store.

The fourth largest volume retailer in the country, Aldi has been on an expansion drive in recent years as it targets having 1,200 stores open throughout the UK by 2025.

Along with Helensburgh, Aldi is on the lookout for new branches in Dumbarton, Partick and Finnieston. It also wants to build additional stores in Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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Aldi, which currently has 92 stores in Scotland and more than 880 across the UK, has identified 19 new locations in Scotland where it is looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites suitable for development.

It says each site should be around 1.5 acres and able to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store with around 100 parking spaces, ideally on a prominent main road and with good visibility and access.

Ciaran Aldridge, national property director at Aldi UK, said: “Aldi is growing rapidly and we are welcoming around a million new customers into our stores every year.

“But there are also hundreds of towns across the UK where there is not an Aldi, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of people who can’t easily access the high quality, affordable food our customers love.

“We are willing to explore all opportunities, including developer-led schemes or existing retail units.”

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In March the retailer told the Advertiser that it wouldn't be taking over the site of the former Waitrose store in Cardross Road, which closed in May; Morrisons has since been confirmed as the new operators, with plans for opening a new store around Christmas time.

The full list of locations Aldi is targeting in Scotland are:

  • Aberdeen (north)
  • Aberdeen (south)
  • Stonehaven
  • Fraserburgh
  • Baillieston
  • Darnley/Pollok
  • Battlefield/Cathcart
  • Partick
  • Finnieston
  • Possil
  • Castle Douglas
  • Clarkston
  • Dumbarton
  • Dunblane/Bridge of Allan
  • Edinburgh
  • Helensburgh
  • Peebles
  • Tannochside/Uddingston
  • Stepps/Moodiesburn

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