Greene King has announced the company invested £23 million in a new food and drink depot in Middleton, Greater Manchester as part of a long-term investment in the northwest pubs network.

The long-term lease is a 15-year deal in partnership with logistics giant, GXO, and is said to deliver 240,000 cases of food and non-food (such as catering and cleaning equipment) as well as 465 tonnes of drink to 1,000 pubs per week.

Greene King said the site will consolidate with the pub company’s logistics network in the area as a long-term commitment to developing and investing in the region.

Matt Starbuck, managing director of Greene King brewing and group supply chain, said: “We want to make this long-term commitment to our operations in the northwest as it will play a crucial role in getting food and drink out to our hundreds of pubs and thousands of customers in the region.

“This investment will enable us to replace the existing sites which are very dated. The new site will make for a far better environment for the teams to work in, and people will absolutely be at the forefront of the design and planning process of the new site.”

According to Greene King the £23 million investment will be used on re-developing and refurbishing the existing site at Middleton.

The pub company said the site will house enough solar panels to cover 8,000 square metres, generating a targeted 1.2 million kWH per year and improvements are expected to take up to 12 months with the depot opening for drink deliveries from May 2025 and food from early-2026.

Greene King’s lease at their current food and service depot at Oceans’s Estate, Trafford Park, will be extended up to May 2026 to meet the companies target timeline.

Chris Hyde, Managing Director Convenience & Food Services at GXO, said: “We’re proud of our 12-year partnership providing expert logistics services that have supported Greene King's growth.

“We’re delighted to support them as we consolidate their operations into a new state of the art facility in Middleton that will help improve productivity and progress ESG commitments."