Big win for Wincanton as it inks four-year warehouse deal with Ikea
Supply chain solutions group Wincanton has won the contract for Ikea's warehouses in London, the group announced today.
Shares in Wincanton rose 2.34 per cent at the open.
The agreement, which will run for four years, will see Wincanton lease and fit-out the warehouses on behalf of the Swedish furniture giant. Ikea's London warehouses occupy a combined space of over 500,000 square foot, both north and south of the Thames.
Wincanton said it will also provide "operational development and support of two new distribution centres which are intended to support the retailer's multi-channel distribution growth strategy".
"The new facilities will create an efficient and reliable operation which will support Ikea's future growth plans," Wincanton said in today's announcement.
The news comes as Argos drivers, employed by Wincanton, prepare to strike just days ahead of Christmas. The Unite union said services could be "seriously disrupted" causing "havoc and mayhem" because of Wincanton's failure to honour holiday back pay.
Ikea recently announced its fifth consecutive year of sales growth in the UK, and said the firm has broadened its market share. The group opened its first new store in the UK for seven years in Reading over the past 12 months, and another store is opening in Sheffield in 2017.
Ikea said it had created 1,700 jobs in the year to 31 August, bringing its UK workforce to 10,000.