NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 04:46 ET
Lidl will keep most of its UK stores closed on New Year’s Day, with branches inside London’s M25 ring road set to open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the retailer said on its holiday schedule. The same timetable shows England stores outside the M25, plus Wales and Scotland, shut on Jan. 1, before a return to normal hours on Jan. 2, and it lists shorter New Year’s Eve trading with later closing times in London. 1
The patchwork matters for shoppers who need last-minute groceries after New Year’s celebrations, especially outside major cities where a single supermarket may serve a wide area. A closed branch can mean a longer drive, higher delivery fees, or relying on smaller convenience stores with limited ranges.
New Year’s Day is a UK “bank holiday” — a public holiday when many businesses run reduced hours — so comparing retailers can be tricky without checking store-by-store listings. Lidl’s split between “inside M25” and “outside M25” is a London-specific shorthand based on the capital’s orbital motorway.
Rival Tesco is expected to open most larger stores from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on New Year’s Day, while Aldi will close, according to a supermarket-hours guide published by The Independent. 2
Aldi has previously framed holiday closures as a way to give staff time off. “Christmas is a special time, and we want to ensure all of our colleagues have the opportunity to relax,” Rebecca Heley, communications director at Aldi UK, said in a company statement. 3
Lidl did not present New Year’s Day hours as a single nationwide block, instead breaking out England by the M25 and listing separate lines for Wales and Scotland. The approach reflects how holiday trading can differ by region and store format, even within the same chain.
UK media outlets have urged customers to check store locators before travelling. The Sun reported that Lidl pointed shoppers to its Lidl Plus app and online store finder for branch-by-branch hours, and suggested shopping early or later in the day to avoid the busiest midday period. 4
For shoppers outside the M25 zone, the closures mean planning ahead on Dec. 31 or switching to another grocer if a large shop is needed. Smaller local outlets may stay open, but often with higher prices and tighter stock on fresh items.
In London and the surrounding commuter belt, limited openings can concentrate demand into fewer stores. That can translate into longer queues and faster sell-through on essentials such as bread, milk and ready-to-eat food.
For retailers, bank-holiday shutdowns reduce labour requirements and give stores time to reset after the Christmas rush. The trade-off is losing a day of sales in many towns at the start of January.
Supermarket groups typically warn that “opening times may vary” because of local licensing, staffing and delivery patterns. Shoppers relying on a specific branch tend to get the most accurate information from store-finder listings rather than national round-ups.
