Aldi is set to pump £2.5 million into Greater Manchester over 2021 – creating more than 150 jobs in the process.
The budget supermarket has announced it will be launching a brand new store in Denton, Tameside – which could be open before the end of the year.
Aldi has also revealed it is planning to upgrade its existing Middleton store over the next few months.
Both projects are set to create brand new roles for local residents – with the supermarket’s new recruitment drive extending to existing Debenhams and Arcadia staff.
Aldi has issued an open invite to workers at Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Topshop to apply for new roles now the brands have been bought out by online-only retailers Boohoo and ASOS.
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Kelly Stokes, Recruitment Director at Aldi UK, said: “We are currently opening an average of one new store a week as we continue to try to meet the huge demand for amazing quality food at unbeatable prices that shoppers can only get at Aldi.
“That means finding around 4,000 new Aldi colleagues this year and, if we can do that while also helping those who have recently lost out due to closures elsewhere, we will do.”
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Jonathan Hutchins / Geograph
There are currently 900 Aldi supermarkets around the UK – 30 alone in the Greater Manchester area.
The company employs as many as 30,000 store assistants, and execs have announced their ambition to open 1,200 supermarkets by the end 2025.
Chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland Giles Hurley said: “We have been investing in Britain for more than 30 years now, but we know that there are still areas that either don’t have an Aldi at all, or that need another store to meet customer demand.
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“With shoppers increasingly looking to make sure they get unbeatable prices on their weekly shop without compromising on quality, our stores are becoming ever more popular.
“This investment in Aldi stores over the course of this year will help make the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket more accessible to even more people, and bring us closer to our long-term goal of having 1,200 stores across the UK by 2025.”
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AO Arena are hosting an ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton in memory of the legendary Manchester boxer
Danny Jones
Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton.
Coming this summer, the AO Arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.
Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still know very little about what the actual event will entail.
Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.
“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”
With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.
They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”
So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.
Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.
The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.
You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.
This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.
Man jailed for stalking, strangling, and raping woman in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed this week for several offences including rape, strangulation and stalking while living in Manchester.
Jack-Leland Webster – previously Jack Malone – of Cedar Road, Earl Shilton in Leicester, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced yesterday (8 April 2026) after being found guilty of rape and strangulation, following pleaded guilty to stalking the victim at a previous hearing.
The incidents took place back in June2024, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained, when Webster had accused the victim of cheating with her ex-boyfriend.
The victim had been in communication with her ex after he had reached out to her to let her know he was ‘concerned’ after he found out that Webster had been impersonating him to message the victim and test her loyalty throughout their relationship.
As the victim attempted to exit the flat, Webster blocked the doorways to prevent her from leaving. He then proceeded to get on top of the victim and while he strangled her, said: “Don’t make me kill you. If you do, I’ll have to kill myself so we can be dead together,” before proceeding to sexually assault her.
While on bail, Webster purchased numerous fake social media accounts to follow and contact the victim, as well as her family and her friends, which was in breach of his no contact conditions. On one occasion, the victim was followed by over 100 accounts on a social media platform in a matter of seconds.
During police interviews, Webster denied all charges against him.
When an officer tried to arrange his second interview, Webster was described as being ‘obstructive’ and even told the officer to “pick me up from KFC” and “catch me if you can”.
“Webster showed no remorse throughout the investigation and treated it as a game,” GMP said following his sentencing.
As mentioned, Webster pleaded guilty to stalking before he went to trial, where a jury found him guilty of rape and strangulation. And then Wednesday 8 April 2026 at Manchester Crown Court, he was sentenced tonine years and five months in prison.
He has also been given an indefinite restraining order.
The Manc -
2nd February 2021 
