Aldi and Lidl plan to open five times as many new stores as Big Four

Discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi are planning to open significantly more stores than Tesco, J Sainsbury, Morrisons and Asda combined, figures have revealed.

The German retails have submitted a total of 171 planning applications, five times as many as the so-called ‘Big Four’, which between them have submitted just 29 applications.

Aldi and Lidl currently account for 9.9% of consumer spending in the UK, a figure that is expected to climb to 15%.