DPD has taken on a former DHL depot in the north of England as it seeks to expand its next-day parcel capacity.
The new Yorkshire site, called Express House, measures at 25,000 square feet. This includes 17,000 square feet of warehousing space and 8000 of office accommodation.
The site is located in Gildersome, Leeds, a quarter of a mile from junction 27 of the M62.
The news comes after DPD announced it would spend £200 million on new vehicles and depots in the UK in a bid to meet new demand for online retail after the pandemic.
The company wants to expand next-day parcel capacity in the country in advance of what it predicts will be the largest ever Black Friday peak.
£60 million of the sum is earmarked for 15 new regional depots. The firm will also hire 6000 new employees, including delivery and HGV drivers, warehouse staff, managers and support staff such as mechanics.
Louise Ferguson, general manager for property at DPD commented: “We are experiencing the biggest boom in online retailing in the UK’s history and we are making an unprecedented investment in our infrastructure and people to ensure we can continue to meet the high levels of demand for our services.
“Parcel volumes have been up over 30% year on year, and we believe there will remain a much greater reliance on ecommerce in the future. This investment and expansion in Leeds will help ensure that we continue to be right there for our retail customers, alongside them, with the capacity to cope with the demand they are seeing online.”
