Lidl has published a list of 200 London locations where it is seeking sites, as it looks for prime locations as part of its £500m new store expansion plan.

The German discounter has identified a range of desired locations for new stores, including Mayfair, Chelsea, Kensington, Notting Hill, Angel, Soho and Covent Garden, as well as more suburban areas such as Finchley, Colindale and Uxbridge.

Lidl, which has offered a finder’s fee for new site introductions, said it was interested in high street sites, retail parks and shopping centres, as it aims to open up to 40 new stores by the end of its next financial year.

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“This level of investment is a clear sign of our ambition. As we enter our fourth decade in Great Britain and hurtle towards a thousand stores, there are still so many parts of the country crying out for convenient access to a Lidl store,” said Lidl GB chief real estate officer Richard Taylor.

“New Lidl stores mean new jobs, new opportunities for British suppliers, and continued investment into local economies.”

The news follows Lidl experiencing record sales over its golden quarter. The supermarket said it saw an additional 2 million customers, and hit a new record of over £1bn in sales for the first time over the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve. In November it posted its sales rose by 16.9% to almost £11bn, while pre-tax earnings jumped to £220.8m.