OCADO retail will open a new customer fulfilment centre in Purfleet creating up to 1,500 new jobs. 

The company – which is a new joint retail venture between Ocado Group and Marks and Spencer – will create the new state of the art facility, covering 300,000 square feet, on a 19 acre site at SEGRO Logistics Park, Purfleet.

The decision to develop the site followed positive talks between SEGRO and Thurrock Council, which began at the international MIPIMconference in March 2018. MIPIM offers the council an unrivalled opportunity to raise the borough's profile and make new contacts. Almost £300,000 in planning performance income has been generated since MIPIM 2018.

Mark Coxshall, Thurrock Council's Cabinet member for regeneration  said: "We are delighted to welcome Ocado Retail and SEGRO to the Thurrock family. It is great that largescale businesses like these can see the advantages of working with us and locating here.

"Thurrock is a growing area which offers tremendous opportunities to businesses. By encouraging organisations like these to invest in the borough we are creating exciting employment prospects for our residents.

"Thurrock Council is very much open for business and by spreading the word about the incredible opportunities which exist here we are helping to create a more prosperous place for our residents to live, work, play and stay."

Alan Holland, Business Unit Director, Greater London, SEGRO, said: "Demand for high-quality, well-positioned industrial land inside the M25 continues to rise at the same time as availability is falling. Thurrock ticked all the boxes for us as a great place to develop the new SEGRO Logistics Park Purfleet facility, a fact underlined by Ocado's decision to establish a new Customer Fulfilment Centre there. It's a real positive in terms of investment, job creation and local economic growth."

Richard Locke, Operations Director, Ocado Retail, said: "These are exciting times for Ocado.com, now a joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks and Spencer, and this latest Customer Fulfilment Centre will provide new capacity to bring an even better offer to UK customers."