The budget supermarket has announced 16 locations across Hampshire – including Portsmouth – where it wants to open new supermarkets over the next two years.

Aldi 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.

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Richard Thornton, Communications Director at Aldi UK, said: ‘We’re continuing to gain even more customers - with over 60 per cent of UK households shopping with Aldi in the last year.

‘Our focus is on expanding our store estate, making sure Aldi is accessible to as many of these new shoppers across the country as possible.

‘Looking ahead, we are excited to provide millions of new customers with access to Aldi’s award-winning quality and unbeatable value as we create even more places and more ways to shop with us.’

Aldi is set to create 2,000 new jobs next year in addition to 7,000 created in the last two years, as part of a £1.3 billion investment drive.

Additionally the company will also be investing in the development of new and expanded distribution centres.

The discount supermarket chain made the investment announcement, which will run for two years, as bosses revealed sales soared 10.2 per cent in the UK and Ireland in 2020 to £12.3 billion.

See the places Aldi wants to open stores in Hampshire in our gallery below.

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