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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Business
Simon Hunt

Lidl beats Aldi to reclaim crown of Britain's cheapest supermarket

Lidl has once again claimed the crown of Britain's cheapest supermarket, data from Which? shows, as the nation's biggest grocers battle to keep prices low.

The average basket of goods cost £74.58 in October, Which? says, marginally ahead of Aldi at £74.75.

Asda was the cheapest supermarket for a larger trolley of items, while Waitrose was the most expensive, with the average basket of groceries coming to £91.15, some 22% higher than Lidl.

Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB CEO, said: “As we head into the festive season, we remain relentlessly focused on offering the lowest prices in the market.

"The latest Which? basket demonstrates that we’re delivering on our price promise and that customers can be confident they are getting the best value possible when they walk through our doors."

It comes as Lidl eyes a number of potential new sites as it seeks to expand across central London.

The supermarket earlier this year published its longlist of possible sites for new shops, with Mayfair, Westminster and Knightsbridge among the possible locations.

The list includes 247 sites in London and the immediately surrounding areas. While every borough was represented, the list did show Lidl’s ambition for another store in central London.

That includes the potential for a Lidl store in some of London’s most exclusive postcodes.

The discount supermarket is eyeing a site in Knightsbridge, the home of Harrods and Harvey Nicholls, as well as Mayfair and a possible first City Lidl at St. Paul’s or the Barbican.

In September, Lidl has revealed its British arm swung to an annual loss after battling to keep a lid on prices as its costs rose “across the board”.

The group reported pre-tax losses of £76 million for the year to February 28 against profits of £41.1 million the previous year as it also invested heavily in the business.

Sales jumped 18.8% to £9.3 billion over the year and the group said it increased its share of the supermarket sector.

But it said the losses came as it faced a “challenging inflationary environment which led to an increase in costs across the board” and made significant investments in the chain.

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