The German supermarket chain has signed a mortgage agreement to take over the site of the closed hospital
Aldi has snapped up a derelict London psychiatric hospital. The news is the latest indication that discount supermarkets are becoming increasingly inventive in their pursuit of land to grow their UK presence.
The German retailer, which currently operates more than 1,000 stores across the UK but aims to add as many as 500 more, has signed a mortgage agreement to take over the vast site in Walthamstow with the North East London NHS Foundation Trust, from whom it acquired the land, according to documents seen by City AM.
The Walthamstow site was formerly home to Thorpe Coombe Hospital, a maternity hospital that later became a mental health clinic. It opened in 1934 before eventually closing its doors in 2017, with a new health and wellbeing centre launching next door in 2019.
The hospital was housed within a converted 18th century private villa, once the residence of Octavius Wigram – a former governor of British insurer the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation and owner of two vessels in the service of the East India Company. It is understood that Aldi’s proposals for a new supermarket will not affect the villa itself, but will instead be constructed in and around the 80-space car park situated to its rear.
Aldi declined to comment on its plans for the site or the terms of the mortgage arrangement. Yet our sister title City AM says planning documents reveal it has proposed establishing a new “foodstore” on the land.
The supermarket giant is expected to open as many as 40 new stores in the UK in 2026 as part of £370m investment plans, with a number of locations identified in London, including affluent neighbourhoods such as Kensington, Notting Hill and Chiswick.
The retailer has offered a finder’s fee of as much as 1.5 per cent of the freehold price or 10 per cent of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites, suggesting the firm has had to rely on outside assistance to help it identify sufficient suitable locations for new stores. Aldi’s German competitor Lidl has also gone to significant lengths to find ways to expand its UK presence, going as far as opening its first-ever pub in a bid to navigate strict licensing laws in Northern Ireland.
According to its most recent accounts, Aldi recorded a turnover of £18.1bn in the UK, with a pre-tax profit of just over £400m. The retailer has climbed the ranks to secure its position as the fourth largest supermarket in the UK, commanding a market share of 10.6 per cent, according to figures from Kantar.
