Budget supermarket Lidl is chasing a large warehouse in the south of England as it continues to ramp up its operation across the UK.
Last week the Schwarz Group-owned supermarket said it had invested £435 million into expanding its Belvedere facility in Greater London and starting work on a 38-acre distribution centre in Leeds.
The supermarket said at the time that it was on the lookout for warehouses in the south of England to strengthen its logistics infrastructure, but failed to say what this would look like.
Market sources have since told CoStar News that Lidl has an active requirement for a more than 450,000-square-foot warehouse in the outer M25 motorway area, instructing global property consultancy Savills.
They added that the supermarket is looking for a facility with 30m eaves, preferably on a freehold basis, but would also consider leasehold. Both parties declined to comment on the requirement.
Lidl, which launched in Great Britain in 1994, already has 14 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales, helping to stock more than 970 stores. This includes the 800,000-square-foot Belvedere site and Woodside Link in Luton, its largest distribution centre in Europe.
Lidl has previously said that its Belvedere and Gildersome projects, alongside its search for a new warehouse in the south of England, "reinforce [its] scale and ambition" as it continues to grow.
The company opened four stores in Canning Town, Preston, Walsall and Wombourne in one month earlier this year and is aiming to open a total of 40 stores this year this financial year, spending half a billion.