Councillor Tony King, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration at Derbsyhire County Council, said:-

“We’re delighted to handover the keys to Great Bear Distribution and Gist Limited − both companies will be creating jobs for local people which is fantastic news and they will be a real boost to the Derbyshire economy.

“Driving economic growth and creating more job opportunities are key priorities of ours and we’re really pleased that Markham continues to play a vital role in bringing investment into the county.

“We look forward to following the progress of both firms over the coming months and welcoming even more businesses to the site this year.”

Chester-based Great Bear Distribution − which is part of the Culina Group − was established in 1994 and operates in 30 locations nationwide providing warehousing and distribution for clients such as PZ Cussons, BMW, Unilever, Mars and Mondelez.

The firm now occupies just under one million sq ft of land at Markham Vale making them the largest business on the site to date.

Peter Yarwood, Regional Operations Director at Great Bear Distribution, said:-

“We are very impressed with how quick not one, but two units have been delivered by Henry Boot Developments and Derbyshire County Council in such a short build time. On the back of the first unit, we agreed a deal for a second on Markham Vale North and due to the transition of a large part of our Midlands operations to Markham Vale, we needed a speedy delivery with no bumps along the way.

“We look forward to our second base becoming fully operational in the coming months, to benefit from the excellent motorway links and access routes which will help us to service our clients much more effectively.”

Gist Limited manages the supply chains for perishable and chilled products for a wide range of customers in the commercial and industrial sector and has 5,000 employees based at more than 40 sites throughout the UK and Europe.

Alan Devine, Managing Director, Gist, said:-

“We are happy to be working with Derbyshire County Council and Henry Boot on the development of this important new extension to our national food and logistics network, on time and on budget.

“The new consolidation centre will significantly increase our ability to bring great service to our customers.”

Gist Limited is the third business to join Ferdinand Bilstein UK and Great Bear Distribution on Markham Vale North.

Both firm’s new bases were built by Henry Boot Developments − private sector property partner for Derbyshire County Council.

Vivienne Clements, Director at Henry Boot Developments, said:-

“The announcement of the second unit for Great Bear Distribution and the Gist Limited facility at Markham Vale was absolutely brilliant and reflected great confidence from the firms in the region. Now that the near 500,000 sq ft unit for Great Bear Distribution has completed on Markham Vale North, we are extremely pleased to have delivered circa one million sq ft for them, creating excellent job opportunities for local people.

“Following this we are delighted to announce practical completion of the 90,760 sq ft unit for Gist Limited, the third unit on Markham Vale North. On the North, more than 20 acres of land now remains capable of sub-division into units from as little as 15,000 sq ft up to 300,000 sq ft.”