Aldi will open a new branch on Edgware Road on August 6, with Olympic gold medallist Rory Gibbs cutting the ribbon and handing out free fruit and vegetables, as part of the retailer’s wider £370 million UK expansion drive.
Aldi is set to open a new supermarket on Edgware Road in Central London next month, with Olympic rower Rory Gibbs on hand to mark the occasion. The store will open its doors at 8am on Thursday, August 6, with the gold medallist cutting the ribbon and giving away free bags of fruit and vegetables to the first 30 customers in the queue. The branch, located between Paddington Station and Marble Arch, has created 23 jobs and will trade seven days a week. It forms part of a wider expansion that has seen Aldi announce 16 new UK sites in recent months.
Inside the new store
Store manager Bogdan Maricas said: “We can’t wait to open the doors to the new store in Edgware Road. It’s set to be a special day, and having Olympic hero Rory Gibbs join us will make it a morning to remember.” Customers visiting the branch, at 90-100 Edgware Road, W2 2EA, will find everyday groceries, products from Aldi’s “Specially Selected” range, a food-to-go section, and a selection of beers, wines and spirits. The store will be open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 5pm on Sundays.
The new branch occupies the site of a former Tesco Metro, which Aldi acquired as part of its expansion into central London, and spans approximately 17,000 square feet, making it one of the retailer’s larger London locations. The site is less than ten minutes’ walk from Hyde Park.
Licensing conditions
Ahead of opening, Aldi secured a variation to its premises licence allowing it to sell alcohol from 7am Monday to Saturday, although the store itself will initially open at 8am. Under the terms of the licence, all spirits must be kept in locked cabinets, with customers requiring staff assistance to purchase them, and no more than 15% of the shop floor may be used for displaying or selling alcohol. The licence also requires at least one SIA-licensed security guard to be on duty whenever the store is open. Westminster City Council noted that the site falls within the Edgware Road Special Consideration Zone, an area identified as having higher levels of late-night crime and anti-social behaviour.
Part of a wider UK expansion
The Edgware Road opening is one of 16 new stores Aldi has announced across the UK in recent months, including further London branches in Orpington and Hoxton, as well as new sites in Watford and Ashford in Kent. Other locations confirmed by the retailer include Hattersley in Greater Manchester, Newport on the Isle of Wight, Bishops Cleeve in Gloucestershire, Newport in South Wales, Rayleigh in Essex, Balsall Common in the West Midlands, Malton in North Yorkshire, Port Talbot in Wales, Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, Wigan in Greater Manchester, and Sudbury in Suffolk.
The expansion forms part of Aldi’s long-term ambition to grow to 1,500 stores across the UK. In January, the retailer confirmed plans to open around 40 new stores during 2026 as part of a £370 million investment programme. Jonathan Neale, managing director of national real estate at Aldi UK, said: “At Aldi, we’re committed to making high-quality, affordable food accessible to everyone, which is why we continue to invest in expanding our store network across the UK. Our £370 million investment in new stores this year will help us bring Aldi’s unbeatable value to even more communities, supporting local economies through our industry-leading pay for colleagues.”
Aldi now operates more than 1,080 stores across the UK, having overtaken Asda to become the country’s third-largest supermarket by grocery sales.
