Ocado Retail, the new joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, has agreed a deal to establish a new 304,355 sq ft, state-of-the-art facility at SEGRO Logistics Park Purfleet, creating up to 1,500 local jobs and helping meet demand from its increasing customer base to the East of London.
Ocado’s fifth Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) will sit on the entire 19-acre site, which is located inside the M25 alongside the A13. This will enable quick and easy access to the orbital motorway and the wider strategic road network, as well as providing an artery directly into the large London market, enabling the company to offer a better service for online shoppers in the area.
The unit at SEGRO Logistics Park Purfleet (pictured) will combine the space, power and connectivity to house Ocado’s cutting-edge, robotic packing operation, along with a BREEAM Excellent sustainability rating. Work is due to begin on site later this month.
Ocado employs a hub and spoke operating model, where Customer Fulfilment Centres are the hubs from where customer orders are fulfilled, and local spokes are from where the majority of customer orders are delivered. SEGRO Logistics Park Purfleet is the second Ocado facility in SEGRO’s portfolio, joining the 68,000 sq ft spoke at the Origin development in Park Royal.
Alan Holland, Business Unit Director, Greater London, SEGRO, said, “Having helped Ocado establish facilities on the west side of London, we welcome the opportunity to support the growth of its operations in the east of the capital as well. It’s great news for online shoppers in the area and for the local economy around Purfleet.
“Ocado’s commitment to SEGRO Park Purfleet demonstrates a real positive momentum for investment, job creation and business growth in East London, and underlines the value of high-quality, sustainable, well-positioned industrial and logistical property along the A13 corridor.”
Ian Starling, Group Head of Real Estate, Ocado, said, “We are delighted to again be working with SEGRO as we prepare to build our fifth CFC in Purfleet. These are exciting times for Ocado.com, now a joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, and this latest CFC will provide new capacity to bring an even better offer to UK customers.”
SEGRO Park Purfleet is one of a number of the company’s growing portfolio to the East of London, which also includes developments at Dagenham, Enfield, Newham and Rainham.