Lidl pays back £100m in business rates relief

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German discounter Lidl has forked out £2m on bodycam equipment for its shop floor workers, as the rise in store crimes continues to eat into the pockets of UK retailers.
German discounter Lidl has forked out £2m on bodycam equipment for its shop floor workers, as the rise in store crimes continues to eat into the pockets of UK retailers.

Budget supermarket Lidl has joined the Covid repayment train in announcing it will pay back millions in business rates relief it received at the start of the pandemic. 

In March, the supermarket sector along with other retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England, was granted a business rates holiday for 12 months. 

Lidl today said it was “incredibly grateful” for the government’s support but would now pay back over £100m of relief. 

Lidl today said that the tax relief had been “vital in allowing the discounter to make significant quick unplanned investments” at the start of the pandemic. But it is now “well placed” to manage further plans and has brought forward plans to return the relief. 

It comes after Tesco announced earlier this week it would pay back £585m, which triggered other supermarkets to follow suit. 

Sainsbury’s has since pledged to return £440m, Morrisons £274m, Asda £340m and Aldi £100m. Budget retailer B&M has committed to forgoing £80m, while Pets at Home this morning announced it would return £28.9m. 

Waitrose has reportedly refused to join its rivals, blaming struggles at sister company John Lewis. 

“We’ve been considering this for some time, and we are now in a position to confirm that we will be refunding this money as we believe it is the right thing to do,” Lidl GB boss Christian Hartnagel said. “We feel confident that the business is well positioned to navigate and adapt to any further challenges brought by Covid-19.”