Lidl has said it will be opening 10 more shops in the UK before Christmas as the discount retailer targets new shoppers ahead of the festive season.

The German supermarket chain also announced it has agreed to sell 12 new stores as part of a leaseback deal worth £70 million.

Lidl currently has about 960 stores but has previously said it is targeting more than 1,100 across England, Wales and Scotland.

The new openings this year will create around 400 jobs and reach thousands more households, according to the retailer.

The expansion includes shops in Berwick Green in Bristol, Bovey Tracey in Devon, and Stirchley in Birmingham, as well as three in London’s Hoxton, Forest Gate and Caterham.

It also includes the reopening of relocated or refurbished shops in Chessington and Dagenham in London, and Connah’s Quay in Wales.

Lidl is now the sixth biggest UK supermarket with an 8.1% share of the grocery market, according to the latest figures from Kantar.

That puts it just behind Morrisons, which has an 8.6% share, and German rival Aldi, which has grown its share to just under a 10th.

Meanwhile, Lidl said it has agreed to a deal to sell 12 new shops, which are in the process of being built, for £70 million.

Investment group Roadside Real Estate, through its joint venture with Meadow Partners, will acquire the stores, which are set to open by February next year in locations including Manchester and Saffron Walden.

The deal means Lidl will get an immediate cash boost and then pay rent on the shops, which will be on 25-year leases.

Lidl Great Britain’s chief development officer, Richard Taylor, said: “Our plan to open 10 new stores before Christmas demonstrates our continued commitment to providing more communities across the country with access to affordable, quality food, as well as employment opportunities.

“But we still have big ambitions for our expansion plans to open hundreds more Lidl stores in the future.

“Our teams are constantly scouring the country for new sites, identifying opportunities not just in towns where we don’t currently have stores, but also in areas where existing stores are experiencing increasing demand.”