99p Stores is set to open its 99th store next week.

The discount chain will hit the landmark figure when it opens its store in Ashford, Kent, on Friday. It will be quickly followed by the opening of its 100th store the following day in Didcot, Oxfordshire.

The retailer has expanded rapidly after picking up former Woolworths stores and plans further store openings in Stroud, Peckham and Halesowen.

99p Stores is currently number 11 in The Grocer’s Top 50 ranking of independent grocery retailers, with sales of £113m and pre-tax profits of £315,000 for the year to 31 January.