Jobs boost as Morrisons reveals Bury plans

SUPERMARKET group Morrisons will open a distribution centre in Radcliffe near Bury, a move that will create 100 jobs when it is up and running.

The Yorkshire supermarket says the 150,000 sq ft site at Bury Point, will allow it to support its expanding M local convenience store network.

The North West site is Morrisons’ second convenience distribution hub, following on from the opening of its site in Feltham, West London, in March, and will support the opening of the 62 sites acquired from failed retailers Blockbuster, HMV and Jessops earlier this year.

Morrisons is aiming to have over 100 Morrisons M local convenience stores open by the end of January 2014, creating 2,000 jobs.

The Bury site will be leased for five years and run by supply chain specialists Wincanton on behalf of Morrisons.

Neal Austin, Morrisons group logistics and supply chain director, said: “This is a big year for M local as we expand at pace. The convenience market is a fantastic opportunity for us and, as we expand our store offering, we’ve got to make sure we have the infrastructure to support it.”

Eric Born, chief executive of Wincanton, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our partnership with Morrisons with the announcement of this five year contract.

“Over the last 18 months, we have seen our market share grow as we broaden our service offering in the UK retail sector, and today’s announcement confirms the enormous potential that exists for Wincanton.”

Manchester law firm Kuits advised Pin Properties on the letting to Wincanton.