A MASSIVE new warehouse facility is to be developed in Newry by the Savage and Whitten wholesale group to service its fast-growing all-island distribution network.
Better known as S&W Wholesale, the company already operates from a 100,000 sq ft base the Carnbane Business Park in Newry.
But the group behind the Today’s and Nearby retail brands has revealed plans for a bigger 180,000 sq ft storage and distribution complex on an 11 acre site on the other side of the A1.
It follows a period of significant growth for the business, which traces its roots in Newry back more than a century.
The grocery craze during the first Covid-19 lockdown contributed to a surge in S&W’s group turnover in 2020, which shot up by 22 per cent to £126 million. Pre-tax profits were up 72 per cent to £5m over the same period.
Originally founded as Newry Cash & Carry in 1916, the company merged with J&E Whitten in 2000 to create Savage & Whitten, otherwise known as S&W.
The business has grown to thousands of products, distributed across a fleet of 60 vehicles, making it one of the largest independent wholesalers on the island of Ireland.
It now employs around 250 people and services some 2,500 customers.
The group’s retail portfolio now stands at some 140 stores across the island of Ireland.
While S&W has yet to publish its 2021 company results, a December report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin showed the significant increase in the volume of goods moving from Northern Ireland to the Republic post-Brexit was driven by the food and beverage sector.
It noted a sharp decline in trade between the Republic and Britain since January 2021, while north-south trade increased considerably.
S&W is just the latest company involved in the all-island food supply chain to announce a major expansion plan.
Lisburn’s PRM Group, one of the biggest chilled food delivery groups on the island, unveiled an £8m investment plan in December to develop a new purpose-built storage and distribution hub.
