Waitrose is to close its Acton, west London online fulfilment DC this year, replacing it with a similar operation in south London.

The Acton DC will close in the spring as the supermarket claimed the site will “almost certainly be the subject of a compulsory purchase order for HS2 in 2017”.

The 80,000ft² Coulsdon, south London, DC will have twice the capacity of Acton when it opens in March.

The 37,000ft² Acton site was formerly occupied by sister company John Lewis and in 2011 was converted to become an online DC for Waitrose.

A spokesman for the supermarket chain said the Coulsdon site will employ 450 people and the 410 staff currently based at Acton will have the opportunity to relocate.

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