Home Bargains launches next-gen £400 million automated DC
The discount retailer has officially opened the St Helens facility.
SPANNING APPROXIMATELY one million square feet, the new site will operate around the clock to support 300 Home Bargains stores. Employing 1,000 colleagues the centre has created numerous local job opportunities, including skilled system and engineering roles, from the local community, while offering favourable shift patterns to promote a healthy work-life balance.
The facility is located off Junction 8 of the M62 and served by a dedicated footway/cycleway that links it to St Helens, Warrington, and the wider Omega Business Park.
TJ Morris has invested around £400 million in this landmark development—a key step in the company’s ambitious growth strategy and its mission to expand the reach of Home Bargains stores across the UK.
The automation system, developed in partnership with WITRON, incorporates cutting-edge order picking technology, with up to 80% of stock picking now automated.
Construction began in April 2022, and the first store deliveries were dispatched on 5th May 2025. By the end of the ramp-up phase in August 2025, logistics capacity is projected to grow by over 57%.
TJ Morris has already started work on the next distribution centre in Doncaster, which will be a copy of the site in St Helens, with the same automated systems. The Doncaster site is scheduled to open in 2028 and will provide capacity to deliver to a further 300+ stores, further supporting the long-term growth plans for the business.
