Lidl GB has officially opened its £300m RDC – the largest Lidl warehouse in the world – marking the discounter’s continued commitment to expansion across Great Britain.
The 1.2 million square foot RDC, which is half a kilometre in length and could fit three of Lidl’s existing warehouses inside, is located in Houghton Regis, Luton, and will be delivering over 9,400 pallets a day across 150 stores. This compares to its existing distribution centres, which service between approximately 60-80 stores.
It will be the first Lidl GB warehouse to feature automation, helping to store more goods and increase capacity at the distribution centre, which in turn is helping to create more jobs. It’s also been designed with sustainability at the forefront, featuring solar panels that are set to generate 2,000,000 kWH’s of electricity annually. At certain times throughout the year the warehouse will run purely on solar power. Additionally, all its delivery fleet is fuelled by biogas from food waste, supporting the discounter’s ambition to have 100% of its fleet diesel free by 2030.
This milestone comes as Lidl doubles down on its commitment to further strengthen its infrastructure as it caters for growing numbers of customers up and down the country. In 2022 Lidl opened over 50 new stores – more than any other supermarket in Great Britain – and opened a further 19 stores at the beginning of 2023.
The warehouse is set to create up to 1,500 jobs for the local community. Warehouse colleagues will benefit from working at one of the highest paying supermarkets after hourly wages increased this month to £11.40 from £11.00, with the potential to rise to £12.30 with length of service. Benefits also include life assurance and optional health and dental insurance schemes, as well as enhanced holiday entitlement, and 10% discount in stores.
The opening is being marked with a ribbon cutting and parade featuring local performers from Luton, allowing Lidl colleagues to celebrate along with local community stakeholders.
Richard Taylor, chief development officer at Lidl GB, said: “The opening of this new RDC in Luton is a seminal moment for Lidl GB. Demand for Lidl has never been higher, and we are seeing an increasing number of people walk through our doors to make savings on every shop. The fact that Lidl’s largest RDC in the world is here in Great Britain speaks for itself not only in terms of us needing to meet the growing demand from customers, but also in terms of our ambition to grow that demand in the future. It is a spectacular state-of-the-art site that our team has worked incredibly hard on to get to where we are today. It has the capacity to service 150 stores, which is nearly triple the amount of some of our existing warehouses, demonstrating the true scale of our ambition and growth potential.”
Jennifer Davidson, Lidl’s regional director responsible for the new distribution centre commented: “In my 26 years at Lidl I’ve had the opportunity to work on some incredible projects, but none of which I am prouder of than this. To see the culmination of all the work that’s gone into it and knowing the boost that it’s going to give to the local economy including the 1,500 jobs created, is truly something. We have an exceptional team here, and I’m excited about what the future has in store for us, and Lidl in general.”
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “It’s fantastic to see Lidl investing in the UK and creating thousands more well-paid jobs. As our plan to halve inflation this year and grow the economy bears fruit, businesses can be confident that investing in the UK is the right decision.”
The multi-million pound investment builds on momentum already made this year. In April, Lidl announced it was recruiting for 400 roles as it submitted a planning application at a 38-acre site in Gildersome, Leeds. This followed the recent opening of four RDCs including Motherwell, Peterborough, Doncaster and a second site in Belvedere.
