Major £23 million investment brings state-of-the-art food and drink depot to Middleton

Greene King, the UK’s top pub company and brewer, has unveiled plans to invest £23 million in a new food and drink depot in Middleton, in collaboration with logistics firm GXO.

Middleton will become a crucial hub for Greene King’s northwest operations, serving nearly 1,000 managed and free trade pubs in the region.

This investment marks a major move for Greene King, consolidating its supply chain by merging stock from three separate depots into one site in Middleton. 

The new facility will handle up to 240,000 cases of food and non-food items and 465 tonnes of drink weekly.

The £23 million will go towards redeveloping an existing site, including the installation of solar panels covering 8,000 square metres, aiming to generate 1.2 million kWh per year.

Renovations are expected to take 12 months, with the depot starting drink deliveries in May 2025 and food deliveries by early 2026. To bridge the gap, the lease at the current food service depot in Ocean’s Estate, Trafford Park, has been extended until May 2026.

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.”

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.”