Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) is investing £340 million in a robot-powered distribution warehouse as it looks to expand its number of grocery stores.
The FTSE 100 group, which also works with Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) on its online food deliveries, is pumping its biggest cash investment into logistics with the aim of opening the new 1.3 million sq ft national distribution centre in Northamptonshire in 2029.
There will be around 1,000 workers employed, with automation including pallet cranes for ambient goods, shuttle systems for stock sorting, and hands-free tech that loads items directly into store-ready cages – all designed to reduce faff in restocking and keeping more Percy Pigs, Colin the Caterpillars on shelves.
Alex Freudmann, MD of M&S Food, said the site will “boost capacity for future growth, lower our cost to serve over the long-term, and improve product availability”.
"We are transforming M&S into a destination for the weekly shop and modernising our supply chain is central to that ambition."
M&S said it wants to double the size of its food business, with this site strengthening its logistics network and helping the group "get ahead of the volume curve as we build a bigger, better Food business".
The move comes amid a broader capital investment push from M&S, which recently announced a new 390,000 square foot centre in Avonmouth, Bristol and wants half its stores in a renewed format by 2027/28.