Lidl unveiled a plan to invest £500 million into opening new stores across London on Wednesday.

The supermarket chain intends to open 40 new stores over the next five years, creating 1,500 jobs.

Lidl also has plans to open its first central London store on Tottenham Court Road, near to Warren Street tube station.

Christian Härtnagel, chief executive of Lidl GB, commented: “Our £500 million investment reflects the scale of opportunity we have to bring our quality produce to even more of the capital’s communities, at prices that make it affordable to everyone.”

London’s deputy mayor for business, Rajesh Agrawal, also welcomed the news: “Lidl’s commitment to the capital is great news for London shoppers, a big boost for the jobs market and a further show of confidence in the London economy.”

The investment will also include a new headquarters in Tolworth, south west London for employee heads.

Lidl and Aldi have continued to gain market share in the UK, at the expense of the big four supermarkets.

Lidl has grown to a 5.8% market share, whilst Aldi has also increase to 8.0%, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

As a result, in recent years the bigger supermarkets have unveiled initiatives to help mitigate the challenge of both emerging food retailers.

Tesco (LON:TSCO) opened its first Jack’s location in 2018, a new discount store concept with own brand products.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s and Asda proposed a £7.3 billion merger that would have seen the creation of the UK’s largest supermarket.

However, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) ultimately blocked the deal.