Aldi kicks off operations at £500m Bardon DC

The first deliveries have been made from Aldi’s Leicestershire hub, which it says is now Britain’s largest supermarket distribution centre.

At 1.3m sq ft, the site is around 100,000 sq ft larger than rival Lidl’s facility in Luton. Marks & Spencer’s distribution centre, currently under construction at DIRFT in Daventry, is set to be as large as Bardon – but it’s not expected to open until 2029.

Planning for the Bardon site was approved in August 2020 and ground works at the 24-acre former colliery began the following April. Work on the main building was completed by main contractor DSP in 2024.

Bardon is made up of five linked buildings, including four ambient and six temperature-controlled chambers for chilled and frozen products.

Aldi’s Bardon site is Britain’s largest supermarket DC. Credit: DSP Group

Around 1,000 people will be employed at the site when it becomes fully operational, with staff set to transfer in from Aldi’s sites in Sawley and Atherstone as it centralises operations in Leicestershire.

Once fully operational, Bardon will serve nearly 350 stores across the UK and have the capacity to handle nearly seven million pallets of stock a year. It will also serve as a National Replenishment Hub, supporting Aldi’s existing warehouse network.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “The state-of-the-art technology in Bardon will significantly increase the efficiency of our warehouse network, meaning we can continue to deliver the best possible prices for our customers, every single day.

“That’s why we’re committing significant investment in opening new stores and Distribution Centres up and down the country, taking us closer to our goal of having 1,500 stores across the UK.”