British pub operator Greene King has opened a new supply chain hub in Middleton, Greater Manchester, to consolidate distribution for pubs across the north-west UK.

The 290,000ft² facility features a warehouse and office space. It will serve around 1,000 Greene King-managed and free-trade pubs.  

The project represents a £23m ($30.7m) commitment over a 15-year lease.

Greene King is running the site in partnership with contract logistics company GXO, with the aim of streamlining its regional supply chain.

GXO UK and Ireland’s food and beverage managing director Chris Hyde said: “As our partnership with Greene King continues to go from strength to strength, we are delighted to begin operating this new facility in Middleton.”

The Middleton depot is expected to handle up to 21,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of drinks, along with 11 million cases of food and goods not for resale (GNFR).

The facility replaces three separate depots previously used in the area, consolidating all food, drink and non-food inventory into a single location.

The pub company anticipates cost savings and more flexible use of labour and other resources from managing one integrated operation.

The site also incorporates environmental features.

According to the company, around 63,500ft² of roof space has been fitted with solar panels, targeting an annual generation of 1.1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Greene King’s brewing and group supply chain managing director Matt Starbuck said: “This is an important step in optimising our supply chain operations in the north-west and is the culmination of months of planning and hard work alongside our supply chain partner, GXO.

“By having all our food, drink and non-food items delivered from one depot, we have an agile and operationally efficient supply chain which is good news for our pub teams, customers and communities.”

Last month, Greene King Pub Partners, a division of Greene King, unveiled plans to expand its Hive Pubs and Nest Pubs franchised formats into Wales this year.