Dairy delivery firm’s expansion to create 300 jobs

Dairy company The Modern Milkman is to recruit 300 staff in a new operation based in Manchester.

The Lancashire-based business – famous for sheltering a reticent Boris Johnson in a refrigerator during the 2019 General Election campaign – has secured a new operation at Department Bonded Warehouse near Castlefield.

It will hire 100 office staff, and 200 milk delivery staff over the coming 12 months as part of its expansion in the region.

The Modern Milkman yesterday announced fresh funding of £5m from environmentally-focused investment fund, ETF Partners.

Department Bonded Warehouse is part of property giant Allied London’s growing operations in the region, providing managed workspace.

Tech and home delivery business The Modern Milkman was founded in 2018, and has experienced continued growth over recent months with a greater number of households demanding grocery home delivery.

This has resulted in the Colne firm taking a premium suite at Department, with 32 desks, after securing investment last year.

The operational staff will also use the workspace facilities for training days.

Anthony Powell, managing director at Department, said: “We are pleased to have The Modern Milkman joining our ever-expanding roster of members at Department Bonded Warehouse.

“Collaboration and learning from one another is a key principle at Department, and through our relationship with The Modern Milkman we will be working to embed sustainable initiatives into our workspaces, which is an exciting and necessary step for us to take.”

He added: “It’s imperative to have a central base as a growing business, and give employees the option to work from a safe central place.

“Many tech, digital and creatives live in the city centre and do not have sufficient space to work from home.

“We provide that space in a flexible, welcoming and friendly way, for businesses and their workers to use at their discretion as the rules on movement for work evolve.”

Simon Mellin, founder and chief executive of The Modern Milkman, said: “We have ambitious hiring plans over the coming months and years, so it was important for us to find a location that could grow with us, as well as provide immediate access to the best talent.

“With two million people within a one-hour commute of the Manchester hub, it was a clear choice.

“In the long-term, we are planning for most staff to only be in the workspace one or two days a week, so we wanted the base to be in the heart of the city centre’s shops, bars and restaurants, so our staff get the most out of their day in the office.

“The HQ’s proximity to reliable public transport links also keeps in with the brand’s green agenda.”

The Modern Milkman engages local communities with local produce and fresh groceries by offering deliveries from local farmers and independent suppliers straight to customers’ homes.

The service goes beyond dairy rounds, and delivers fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, cereals, and household goods sourced from sustainable suppliers, plastic free.

The deal was brokered by Joe Averill, managing director of growth advisory, Vault 23.

He said: “Despite the pandemic and ongoing lockdowns, most businesses will always need some kind of central physical office space to operate from.

“This may not look like office space as we knew it a year ago, but recent events have evolved the way people work and made the office an exciting and dynamic place that people want to return to.

“The Modern Milkman’s creative and unique proposition is perfectly aligned to Department Bonded Warehouse.

“It will be highly beneficial for the business to have the amenities it needs, such as studios, right in the building that they are based in.

“The social elements of Department, such as the members’ Clubhouse, also offers the business the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other tenants who operate in the tech and digital space.”

He added: “The workspace market isn’t dead – it is very much active and innovating to adapt to the new working practices which have been accelerated by the pandemic. Department Bonded Warehouse and the growing number of companies inside demonstrate that.”