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UK retailer named as first tenant for London Gateway’s giant logistics park
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced that it plans to build a £200 million distribution centre at DP World London Gateway’s giant logistics park.
Requiring an investment of £200 million, M&S’ new 900,000 sq ft facility will be used to store clothing, home and gifts before they are transported to the company’s stores in the UK and overseas, helping to generate around 700 jobs in the process.
M&S becomes the first customer to be signed up by the Dubai-based company for its London Gateway Logistics Park, which, along with the London Gateway’s deep water port, is scheduled to open later this year on the Thames in South Essex, just 25 miles from the capital.
“Marks & Spencer is a world renowned and trusted brand that is today setting the pace for other UK businesses, leading the way in taking advantage of the benefits of new infrastructure and an outstanding location,” said DP World Group CEO, Mohammed Sharaf.
“We are very pleased to welcome them as the first tenant at our London Gateway Logistics Park.”
Locating M&S’ new distribution centre at Britain’s new global shipping gateway means the company will move millions of products directly from ships to its new warehousing facility. London Gateway’s south east location gives M&S closer access to key UK cities so goods will not travel as far to reach consumers. This model will be both cost effective for M&S and remove millions of lorry miles from UK roads along with thousands of tonnes of CO2.
The announcement was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron, who visited DP World London Gateway on Monday to discuss issues related to global trade as part of his commitments in the lead up to the G8 Summit.
Subject to planning, M&S will begin construction works on its new facility as early as next year.
Video courtesy of AP
