Marks & Spencer is set to create 3,000 jobs in Northamptonshire as part of the biggest supply chain investment in the retailer’s history.
The company will spend £340 million building a 1.3 million sq ft automated food distribution centre at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT). The facility will support M&S’s plans to double the size of its food business over the next five years.
Around 2,000 jobs will be created during construction, with a further 1,000 permanent roles available once the site opens in 2029.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food, said the project would “future-proof both our business and UK retail logistics” by improving availability in stores and lowering long-term costs.
The warehouse will be equipped with automated cranes and robotics technology provided by TGW Logistics, enabling faster and more efficient deliveries to food halls across the Midlands and northern Home Counties. The site is being developed by real estate group Prologis.
The investment comes as part of M&S’s wider growth strategy under chief executive Stuart Machin, which includes opening 12 new food halls this year and expanding the number nationwide to 420 by 2028. Average store size is also increasing to 14,000 sq ft to accommodate weekly grocery shops.
M&S food sales rose 8.7% last year to £9 billion, despite disruption from a cyberattack in April that temporarily affected online orders via Ocado. More recently, sales grew 6.7% year-on-year over the summer, according to NielsenIQ.
Freudmann added: “We’re transforming M&S into a destination for the weekly shop and modernising our supply chain is central to that ambition.”
The Daventry hub is the retailer’s largest-ever investment in logistics and positions Northamptonshire at the heart of its food business growth.
