Competition within the Irish grocery trade is set to grow to be even more intense following the disclosure by German discounter Lidl that it's looking for sites for more than 60 additional stores on each sides from the Border.The planned expansion is thought to become the largest by any of the main grocery multiples and coincides with indicators of a continuing recovery in customer spending inside the Republic.Lidl is already one of many biggest retailers in Ireland with 143 retailers as well as a additional 38 in Northern Ireland. The other German discount chain Aldi has 115 retailers inside the Republic but doesn't trade in Northern Ireland.Lidl has appointed CBRE’s Dublin and Belfast offices to locate crucial web sites in cities and towns to facilitate the expansion. Following opening its first store here in 2000, it expanded rapidly and "experienced unparalleled growth throughout their lifetime in Ireland," according to the organization.As a part of the continued expansion method it says it is "looking to open additional 60-plus stores on high profile websites with great visibility and accessibility."Freehold propertiesThe ideal website will probably be two acres in size although smaller plots of about one acre will be regarded as in higher density urban areas. There's also a preference for freehold properties to accommodate stores ranging in size from 1,800 sq m to two,400 sq m (19, 375 sq ft/25,833 sq ft).Florence Stanley, head of retail at CBRE Dublin, said that in addition to mounting a countrywide search for suitable websites, they would be contacting local estate agents to discover the very best business locations."It may well take a whilst to fulfil our commitment but if we manage to line up 60 web sites within 3 years our client would most likely be satisfied."While most of the existing Lidl properties have substantial parking facilities, the company has also been able to avail of smaller, well-located sites by putting the shops on stilts and making use of the space underneath the creating for parking. 1 such shop is positioned Going On this page the 1.14-acre former Sunday Globe website in Terenure which not too long ago opened for business.That web site was purchased by a residential development company throughout the property boom for €18.three million and was acquired following the crash by Lidl for greater than €4 million.Not excellent newsTara Buckley, director general in the Retail Grocery Dairy and Allied Trades Association, mentioned 60 discount supermarkets was not excellent news for Irish towns and villages.A report by economist Jim Power had shown that a euro spent inside a locally owned shop was worth three times more than 1 spent inside a British or German chain. At the end from the day their income go back to Germany or the UK.Lidl’s share of the discount market in the North has risen significantly over the years though surprisingly the business has not been challenged in that industry by Aldi. That company lately confirmed that its planned £600 million expansion in the UK - it is to open yet another 550 outlets - will not consist of Northern Ireland.Meanwhile, Tesco is still mulling more than the lengthy delayed megastore planned for Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in west Dublin. It has denied it is to be abandoned just like 49 other supermarket projects in the UK.Planning permission for the retailer was granted by An Bord Plean?la in June 2016 and, according to an official spokesperson, the company is "working by means of organizing compliance with the neighborhood authority and as such a commencement date for the improvement has not however been finalised".