April 3 (Reuters) - Vodafone Group Plc said onThursday it would add 150 shops and create 1,400 jobs across theUnited Kingdom during the next 12 months in a 100 million pound($166.33 million) investment.
The British group said the expansion is part of thecompany's plans to invest 1 billion pounds ($1.66 billion) inthe United Kingdom in 2014 where it serves 19 million customers.
Vodafone last year in June said that it would increase itsUK expenditure by more than 50 percent to nearly 1 billionpounds.
The opening of the new shops will increase the total numberof Vodafone's branded UK outlets to more than 500, the companysaid.
It plans to open first of the 150 stores in Notting Hill,Fulham, Walthamstow, Wembley, Ilford, Perry Barr and Bicester.
Vodafone is the third-largest mobile operator in Britainafter EE, a joint venture between Orange and DeutscheTelekom, and Telefonica's O2.
British Prime Minister David Cameron supported Vodafone'splans.
"It is a sign that our long-term economic plan to createjobs and build a stronger, more competitive economy is working,"he said in a statement.($1 = 0.6012 British Pounds) (Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bangalore; Editing by LisaShumaker)
Vodafone (VOD)
