Sysco has announced plans to create its largest depot in Europe, designed to offer next generation wholesale distribution services to foodservice businesses across London and South East England. The Houston, Texas-headquartered company is initially investing $100 million in the new 475,000-square-foot site, which will be the first in the United Kingdom to fully benefit from the complete suite of technology and proprietary software currently in use at Sysco’s wholesale distribution operations in the United States. As well as the benefits in customer service that the technology brings, the new depot will also add significant additional capacity to the existing network in the South East and aligns with Sysco’s ambition for growth in Great Britain.
The introduction of the depot will allow Sysco to store a more comprehensive range of frozen, fresh and ambient products locally, providing a faster response to customer demand.
The company will spend the next 18 months adapting the former Amazon site in Hemel Hempstead to make it suitable for foodservice operations, including introduction of frozen and chilled areas and creating sustainability improvements across the site.
“The new London depot is a next generation site, unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Paul Nieduszynski ,chief executive officer of Sysco GB. “As the largest Sysco site in Europe, it will offer a more comprehensive service to independent customers in London and the surrounding areas. It takes foodservice wholesale in Britain to an entirely new level.”
He added: “The size of the depot will also allow us to be more responsive to customer demand by holding a full range of products on the edge of Greater London. The combination of scale, cutting-edge technology, range and service will set a new standard for foodservice wholesale in the UK.”
Over the next 10 years, the new site will likely help contribute to the creation of 850 jobs, and will be fully operational at the beginning of 2026.
As Britain’s leading national broadline supplier, Sysco’s Ashford, Kent-headquartered Brakes distribution operation delivers fresh and frozen food and ingredients from its nationwide network to pubs and restaurants, as well as schools, caterers, care homes and hospitals.
