Ocado acquires land for £210m West Midlands DC

Ocado has confirmed its acquisition of a West Midlands site for a new £210m DC, which will create 2,000 jobs.

The online grocery retailer, which floated on the stock market in July, has paid £17.7m in cash for the 35.2-acre site on the Birch Coppice Business Park near Tamworth.

Ocado will construct a 350,000ft² facility, capable of handling 120,000 orders per week when it opens in late 2012, eventually rising to 180,000.

The expected total cost of the development is £210m, which will be financed through a combination of current reserves and existing banking facilities.

The DC allows the retailer to double the capacity of its business. The site will service operations in the north of England, and supports the firm's existing site in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Tim Steiner, CEO at Ocado, says: "Ocado is growing rapidly across the country, and this location ensures we will have capacity to provide more customers with the leading line grocery offering. Upon completion, the new DC will create more than 2,000 jobs in the region."

As reported by Roadtransport.com in June, one of the main reasons for Ocado's plans to float on the London Stock Exchange was the need for a new DC in the Midlands.