As part of an initial five-year contract, Wincanton will develop and operate the CFC in West London, accelerating Waitrose & Partners’ expansion in online grocery home delivery.  The partnership approach with the Waitrose team will accelerate the implementation, ensuring the CFC is fully operational in the current financial year.

The new contract will build on the heritage of Wincanton’s long-standing operations for Waitrose’s supermarkets, and the Group’s market-leading expertise in home delivery, eFulfilment and food logistics.  Wincanton will be responsible for operating the CFC (or ‘dark store’) and delivery to Waitrose customers in the West London area

This transformational new contract positions Wincanton as a leader in a market currently experiencing exponential growth. Furthermore, it will involve the creation of 800 jobs and will offer Waitrose.com customers an additional 25,000 orders per week.

James Wroath, CEO at Wincanton, commented:  

"This partnership with Waitrose to deliver groceries to customers’ homes is a fantastic opportunity for us to combine our existing capabilities in a new way, in order to accelerate Waitrose & Partners’ online growth.  We will be the first third party logistics operator to enter an exciting and rapidly expanding market."

Andrew Murphy, John Lewis Partnership Executive Director, Operations, commented:

"This builds on a 20-year relationship with Wincanton from which we know them to be a collaborative and agile business partner. Our companies' complementary experience will help us further accelerate our online growth and respond well to significant customer demand."