Greene King signs 15-year long lease on £23 million Middleton depot in partnership with GXO
- The depot will deliver 240,000 cases of food and non-food (such as catering and cleaning equipment) as well as 465 tonnes of drink to 1,000 pubs per week
- This new site will consolidate Greene King’s logistics network in the region as a long-term commitment to developing and investing in the region
- As part of the refurbishment, the site will house enough solar panels to cover 8,000 square metres, generating a targeted 1.2 million kWH per year
Greene King, the country’s leading pub company and brewer, has today announced that it will be investing £23 million in a new food and drink depot in Middleton, in partnership with logistics company GXO.
The investment, which will be part of a 15-year lease with GXO running the operations of the site, will look to harmonise the business supply chain processes by housing both food and drink stock that is currently being managed at three depots into one site. This will mean that as many as 240,000 cases of food and non-food as well as 465 tonnes of drink will pass through the new depot doors on a weekly basis.
The northwest is a key location for Greene King, with the Middleton depot set to serve its almost 1,000 managed and free trade pubs across the region.
The pub company will be using the £23 million investment to re-develop and refurbish an existing site at Middleton, including the introduction of enough solar panels to cover 8,000 square metres, generating a targeted 1.2 million kWH per year.
The improvements to the current site are expected to take around 12 months, with the depot opening for drink deliveries from May 2025 and food from early-2026. As such the lease at the current food service depot at Ocean’s Estate, Trafford Park, is being extended for 1 year to May 2026 to meet this timeline.
Matt Starbuck, managing director of Greene King brewing and group supply chain, said: “We want to make this long-term commitment to our operations in the northwest as it will play a crucial role in getting food and drink out to our hundreds of pubs and thousands of customers in the region.
“This investment will enable us to replace the existing sites which are very dated. The new site will make for a far better environment for the teams to work in, and people will absolutely be at the forefront of the design and planning process of the new site.”
The announcement follows a proposed £40m investment in a new brewery in Bury St Edmunds, which was announced in April.
Chris Hyde, Managing Director Convenience & Food Services at GXO, said: “We’re proud of our12-year partnership providing expert logistics services that have supported Greene King’s growth. We’re delighted to support them as we consolidate their operations into a new state of the art facility in Middleton that will help improve productivity and progress ESG commitments.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland.
At Greene King we are passionate about delivering our purpose to ‘pour happiness into lives’. That’s for our customers, our team, our pub partners, our suppliers and the communities in which we live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire we employ around 39,000 people across the group with four divisions: Greene King pubs, Destination Brands, Partnership and Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.
- Greene King pubs are located where people and communities come together; pubs enjoyed in cities, towns and villages throughout the country
- Destination Brands is a portfolio of food and drink-led brands including Hungry Horse, Farmhouse Inns, Chef & Brewer, Flaming Grill and Wacky Warehouse
- Partnerships & Ventures includes Pub Partners, which runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive Franchise pubs, and our Ventures Brands which is made up of Metropolitan Pub Company, Hickory’s, Hotels Group and Crafted Pubs
- Brewing & Brands covers the brewing side of the business. Quality ales are brewed at the Westgate brewery in Bury St Edmunds and the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar. Our industry-leading portfolio includes Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Ice Breaker and Belhaven Best and our premium beers, Level Head and Flint Eye, brewed for the modern-day drinker.
Contact: Harry Vavasour HVavasour@headlandconsultancy.com
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