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(From left) James Whittaker from funder Barings Real Estate; Dan Burn - development director at Panattoni; Deborah Faithful - estates manager at Hermes; and Chris Irwin - TSL Projects

Delivery company Hermes has announced plans to open a new, purpose-built depot in Bolton this autumn.

The move is part of a wider £100m investment strategy announced in June last year to open another ten depots and recruit 10,500 new employees, in response to the increase in online shopping during the pandemic which saw Hermes deliveries soar by 200 million to 600 million in 2020.

The new Wingates Estate Bolton depot replaces an adjacent site. All staff are to be transferred and another 100 staff recruited across all roles including management positions within its customer services, compliance and finance divisions.

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The depot will be able to handle almost three times more parcels – up to 220,000 per day.

It also features EV charging points, energy efficient measures including smart lighting and will be built to BREEAM certified specifications.

Carl Lyon, chief operating officer at Hermes UK, said: “The pandemic and lockdown restrictions have expedited the already significant growth of online shopping and we are continuing to make bold investments to ensure we can continue to meet current and future demand. Bolton is a key location for us and forms a vital part of our growing infrastructure.”