Ocado Planning Another Three Giant Warehouses To Cope With Demand

Grocery delivery firm Ocado is planning to more than double its capacity by building three giant warehouses in different parts of the country.

The company is based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and built a second facility last year in Dordon, Warwickshire, which it shares with Morrisons. Ocado delivers Waitrose ranges as well as its own branded products with its own vans.

It also runs the Morrisons.com home delivery business which launched in January.

But directors want to accelerate the opening programme for its giant automated warehouses - which it calls Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs) - to cope with demand.

Ocado finance director Duncan Tatton-Brown told The Mail on Sunday today: 'We’re not just looking at one, we’re looking at two or three in the medium term. It’s our intention to increase capacity and we are looking at ways to do that for us on our own, for Morrisons on their own or together.'

There have been no commitments yet over the plan which would be drawn up based on 'a three to five-year timescale', he said. He added: 'We’re talking to Morrisons about all of the options and we’re reaching a broad consensus.'

Managers are understood to have spoken with potential developers in Manchester and Kent among other locations.

It also owns about a dozen smaller warehouses which channel goods to local areas from the larger centres.

Ocado is on course to deliver its first annual pre-tax profit this year. It signed a £218 million deal with Morrisons last year as the supermarket rushed to catch up with its competitors Asda Tesco and Sainsbury's who all have long established online services.