SUPERMARKET chain Lidl is to create 100 further Scottish jobs as it opens a regional distribution centre at the Eurocentral business park.

Having acquired the 50 acre site from Scottish Enterprise, Lidl has committed to constructing a new build sustainable 58,000m² facility that is designed and constructed to meet demanding sustainability standards.

The centre, which will be located on Coddington Crescent represents a multi-million pound investment in the local area.

The Lanarkshire centre will replace Lidl’s existing warehouse in Livingston. The German discounter said expansion was necessary to accommodate the scale of its future operations within Scotland, where it currently has 91 stores and 1,800 staff.

The success of the chain, along with fellow German firm Aldi, has changed the face of the grocery industry in the UK, as the ‘big four’ supermarkets change their pricing structures to stave off the advance of the discounter. Lidl has built a 4.5 per cent share of the overall grocery market.

Lidl employees at the current centre have been assured that all existing job roles will be retained at the new premises.

Ross Millar, managing director for Lidl in Scotland, said the deal marked another milestone in the company’s ambitious expansion programme.

“We are firmly committed to helping boost the local economy by creating new jobs through the construction of the new RDC,” he said. “The team are very much looking forward to now preparing and submitting the planning application. If approved we would hope to commence building in 2017”.