Aldi has made the first delivery from its new distribution centre in Bardon, Leicestershire, marking the start of operations at what the retailer claims is the UK’s largest supermarket warehouse.
The discounter has invested more than £500 million in the 1.3 million sq ft facility, which will employ around 1,000 people and forms part of Aldi’s wider £1.6 billion investment programme in Britain over 2026 and 2027.
Once fully operational, the site will serve nearly 350 Aldi stores across the UK and handle almost seven million pallets of stock annually. It will also operate as a National Replenishment Hub, supporting the retailer’s wider warehouse network.
The site comprises five linked buildings, including four ambient and six temperature-controlled chambers for chilled and frozen products.
Aldi said Bardon is its most technologically advanced and efficient distribution centre in the UK, featuring automated storage systems developed in partnership with technology providers Dematic and Cimcorp. The technology includes machinery capable of unloading supplier deliveries and storing products in floor-to-ceiling racking before dispatch to stores.
The retailer said the investment will help improve operational efficiency and support its ability to maintain low prices.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “The state-of-the-art technology in Bardon will significantly increase the efficiency of our warehouse network, meaning we can continue to deliver the best possible prices for our customers, every single day.
“Our ambition is to make quality groceries affordable and accessible to all, and that can only happen when everybody in Britain has an Aldi store on their doorstep.
“That’s why we’re committing significant investment in opening new stores and distribution centres up and down the country, taking us closer to our goal of having 1,500 stores across the UK.”
Planning permission for the site was granted in August 2020, with ground works beginning the following year. Construction of the main building was completed in 2024.
The facility features 140 HGV loading bays and is described by Aldi as the lowest-carbon-density warehouse across the Aldi South Group. Its 19,000 rooftop solar panels are capable, at times, of generating all the electricity required to power the site.
Many employees will transfer from Aldi’s existing distribution centres in Sawley, Derbyshire, and Atherstone, Warwickshire, while recruitment for additional roles is ongoing.