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Aldi has announced plans to invest a further £1.6 billion to accelerate its UK supermarket expansion, after revealing its sales rose last year.

The discounter said the money would go toward the opening of 80 new shops over the next two years.

Aldi, which currently has 1,060 stores, has previously said it is targeting 1,500 locations across the UK.

It came as the company reported total sales of £18.1 billion in the UK and Ireland over 2024, up from £17.9 billion in 2023, after opening a swathe of new stores during the year.

However, operating profits fell by about a fifth to £435.5 million from £552.9 million the year earlier.

It said this was largely because of its spending on lowering prices for customers, investing in shops and raising pay for staff.

Aldi is Britain’s cheapest supermarket, having regained the top spot from Lidl in August, according to monthly analysis of the UK’s eight biggest supermarkets by Which?.

However, a price war has been heating up across the sector with supermarkets battling to retain customers by bringing down prices in their shops.

Giles Hurley, Aldi’s UK and Ireland chief executive, said that shoppers were “still finding things difficult” which is why it was “laser focused” on keeping its prices low.

“Since we opened our first UK store over 35 years ago, we’ve brought high-quality, affordable groceries to almost 800 towns and cities, but there are hundreds more communities that don’t have an Aldi nearby,” he said.

“We’re more determined than ever to meet that demand, and that’s why we’re investing a record £1.6 billion over the next two years, to bring Aldi prices closer to millions more customers.”

Aldi lifted pay for its store workers to a minimum of £13 an hour nationwide from the beginning of this month.

It is higher than the UK national minimum wage of £12.21 an hour for workers over the age of 21.