LONDON (Reuters) - German discount grocer Aldi said on Monday it planned to open another 550 new stores in Britain over the next eight years, creating 35,000 new jobs.
The firm, currently the fastest growing grocer in the UK sector, said it would invest more than 600 million pounds ($954 million) in the expansion that would grow its store estate to 1,000 by 2022.
"Our expansion plans mean that we can accommodate growing shopper numbers," said joint group managing director Matthew Barnes.
All of Britain's traditional "big four" grocers – market leader Tesco (L:TSCO) Wal-Mart's (N:WMT) Asda, Sainsbury's (L:SBRY) and Morrisons (L:MRW) - have been losing market share to discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Aldi's investment was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron during a visit to the grocer's Atherstone headquarters in northern England.
In September the firm posted a 65 percent jump in 2013 profit.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)