Top British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has signed an agreement with DP World London Gateway to build a major distribution centre at the new deep-sea container port and logistics park in South Essex at an estimated cost of £200 million ($311 million).

The mammoth 900,000 sq ft facility will be used to store clothing, home and gifts before they are transported to UK and international M&S stores.

On completion, Marks & Spencer will start moving millions of products directly from ships to the company’s hi-tech warehousing facility at the adjacent London Gateway Logistics Park, said a company statement.

London Gateway’s south east location gives M&S closer access to key UK cities which means goods will not travel as far to reach consumers, it stated.

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, it added.

The announcement, which marks a major milestone in the development of the 1,500-acre site, was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron, who visited DP World London Gateway this morning and discussed global trade with an audience of 150 business leaders.
 
As part of its £200 million investment at DP World’s London Gateway, M&S will create approximately 700 jobs; there will also be hundreds of additional workers employed in the construction phase, said its top official.

"London Gateway will become our third large distribution centre in the UK as we transform our logistics operations into a modern and agile supply chain, fit for the future of M&S," remarked Marc Bolland, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer.

"As we become an international, multichannel retailer, London Gateway will help us become more efficient by cutting costs and locating our supply chain closer to our stores and our international markets. It will also help us deliver against our Plan A objectives by removing road miles and emissions from our network," he added.

DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “We are proud to be able to contribute to the UK economy by providing a more efficient and more reliable global supply chain infrastructure, to the benefit of British business and British consumers. This is a great place and a great time to be talking about global trade.”

Group CEO Mohammed Sharaf said: “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. We are very pleased to welcome them as the first tenant at our London Gateway Logistics Park.”

Simon Moore, the CEO of DP World London Gateway, said: "M&S will have a world-class distribution centre connected to a world-class deep-sea port providing more reliability and efficiency for its business. By bringing ships carrying millions of products closer to the point of consumption we will help M&S to shorten its supply chain."

"We will also support M&S exports from London Gateway. We look forward to working alongside them now and in the many years to follow," he added.

Marks & Spencer is one of the UK’s leading multi-channel retailers with 766 stores in the UK and 420 international stores and nine dedicated international websites in over 50 territories in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.-TradeArabia News Service