A value supermarket chain with stores in York is planning to create another 4,000 jobs and open 100 new branches.

Aldi, which has stores in James Street, Fulford Road and Clifton Moor, has pledged to invest a record £1.3 billion over the next two years with new and upgraded stores, distribution centres and further innovations across its business.

The plans are expected to create a further 4,000 new jobs next year, adding to the 3,000 permanent roles already created in 2020.

The supermarket, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in the UK this year, said its continued investment in Britain was “recognition for three decades of trust and loyalty” shown by its growing base of loyal customers.

In its annual trading update, Aldi said an influx of new shoppers had helped it increase sales in the UK and Ireland by 8.3 per cent to a record £12.3 billion in the year to December 31, 2019 (2018: £11.3bn), despite the grocery market growing by just one per cent overall.

Latest data shows Aldi’s UK sales have continued to rise by 10 per cent with its market share standing at eight per cent.

The total number of customers now shopping with Aldi stands at more than18 million.

The group, which reported a drop in profits in 2018, saw margins improve last year, with efficiencies of scale offsetting continued investment in prices.

Aldi expects to open around 100 new stores in line with its long-term target of 1,200 stores by 2025, alongside more than 100 store upgrades.

Other investments include new and expanded distribution centres and the rollout of recent innovations and developments, including its new ‘click and collect’ service which was successfully piloted and launched to customers last week.

Looking ahead, Aldi said its most important commitment to customers was to continue to keep its prices the lowest in the market as household budgets come under greater pressure.

Aldi, which sources its entire core range of fresh meat, eggs, milk, butter and cream from British suppliers, said it had spent an extra £1 billion with UK companies last year taking its total to £8 billion.

Earlier this year, Aldi maintained its position as the UK’s best-paying supermarket by increasing the minimum hourly rates for store colleagues to £9.40 nationally and £10.90 inside the M25. These rates increase to £10.41 nationally and £11.15 in London after just two years.

More recently, it committed to halving the volume of plastic packaging it used by 2025 by removing over 2 billion pieces of plastic from circulation.