DPD has pledged a further £150 million worth of investment in its UK network in the next five years, which will take total spending to £400 million since 2010.
The parcel delivery company made its latest investment commitment during a pre-election visit by British chancellor (finance minister) George Osborne to its state-of-the-art depot in Raunds, Northamptonshire, in central England yesterday (May 6). The 43,000 sq ft depot opened in late 2013 and now employs over 200 people.
DPD said it plans to spend the new investment on 10 new depots, which will create 750 new jobs. The company is already in the midst of a two-year £175 million programme, including a new £100 million national parcel hub at Hinckley in central England, due to open later this year, and £75 million spending on 18 new or enlarged depots.
Overall, the company said it has invested £250 million investment in its UK business over the last 5 years, with the opening of 15 brand-new depots, creating 4,000 new jobs. In total, DPD now operates 52 depots, and employs 9,300 people.
DPD's CEO Dwain McDonald commented: "We were very happy to welcome the Chancellor and show him around our operation in Raunds. Our record over the last five years speaks for itself with revenue up over £500m and 4,000 new jobs created. Today we announced more good news with a five year plan to build a further 10 new state-of-the-art depots which will create another 750 new jobs at least.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we have been able to do in terms of UK jobs and wealth creation – no other parcel delivery company has come close to matching our levels of growth, profitability or investment in recent years. Our success is based on innovation, service and investment – our unique Predict service means customers are in complete control of their delivery and don't have to wait in all day. Predict is hugely popular with our retail partners as it allows them to offer their customers a truly first class delivery experience, which in turn, encourages them to make repeat purchases."
Last month, Predict helped DPD UK win the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2015 in the Innovation category.
