A STORAGE company that opened premises in the region last year has won a contract with major food retailer Lidl.

Space provided by The Storage Company has helped discount food chain Lidl's expansion in the North-East.

Two stores are being built in Newcastle and Gateshead, while Darlington will get a branch in the spring.

The German chain has expanded to take up a third of The Storage Company's 12,500sq ft warehouses in Durham Way South, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, to store shop fittings and point-of-sale material, and as offices for regional property staff.

Lynn Gate, founder of The Storage Company, said: "With its rapid growth in the area, Lidl needed not only storage space, but also a base from which to co-ordinate its expansion. We were able to accommodate the company on our flexible terms."

Ms Gate has taken on an extra member of staff as a result of the contract.

A Lidl spokesman confirmed the company was refurbishing stores as well as opening new ones.

He said: "Our regional property office covers an area from North Yorkshire to the Borders and across to Cumbria.

"We needed somewhere that was centrally located with good access to the rest of the region, where we can deliver and store equipment on a temporary basis until it is needed."

Ms Gate said Lidl's expansion had given The Storage Company a firm platform from which to grow in Newton Aycliffe, where a council trading standards department, a law firm and other companies have also agreed to take space.

With demand for space still growing, The Storage Company is looking for premises between County Durham and the Borders to continue its expansion.