Bruce Barnard, Special Correspondent | Nov 06, 2012 7:41AM EST
DPD, the French express and parcel delivery group, announced a £175 million ($280 million) expansion in the U.K. to meet the surging demand from online retailers.
The U.K. subsidiary of La Poste, France’s state postal operator, plans to spend $160 million to build its fourth British delivery hub and a further $19 million on 10 new regional distribution depots over the next 15 months.
It will also modernize its existing U.K. network of 40 depots and upgrade its IT infrastructure and global positioning system.
The expansion will add 1,500 jobs to DPD’s existing U.K. work force of 4,200.
The announcement comes a week after Royal Mail, the U.K.’s state postal operator, unveiled a $120 million expansion of its parcel business.
DPD said it has won $112 million of new business as a result of its Predict service, which uses GPS technology to provide customers with a one-hour delivery slot.
The company has just opened a new $42 million sorting center in Poland, which it claims is the largest in Central and eastern Europe.
Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.