IN Brief:
- Oakland International is building a 6,000-pallet frozen cold store at Bardon.
- The development will increase total frozen capacity across its network by approximately 30%.
- The site is being developed as a multi-temperature logistics hub for retail and food supply chains.
Oakland International is constructing a new 6,000-pallet frozen cold store at its Bardon site in Leicestershire, expanding frozen capacity across its network by approximately 30%.
The project forms part of Oakland’s long-term infrastructure strategy for temperature-controlled logistics and supply chain services across the UK and Ireland. The Bardon expansion is designed to support retail and food supply chains that need frozen, chilled, and ambient capability within one operating location.
The new cold store will increase capacity for frozen goods while supporting value-added services including tempering. Food manufacturers and suppliers serving major retailers often need controlled movement between frozen storage, chilled handling, repacking, consolidation, and onward delivery into retailer distribution centres.
Oakland is positioning Bardon as a fully integrated multi-temperature logistics hub. Bringing frozen, chilled, and ambient services together at one site reduces the number of handovers in the chain and gives customers more flexibility to manage mixed-temperature stock, peak demand, and changes in retailer ordering patterns.
The expansion adds capacity in a cold-chain property market shaped by energy costs, labour availability, retailer service-level expectations, and increasing SKU complexity. Manufacturers are also using frozen formats to manage shelf life, reduce waste, and smooth production against unpredictable demand.
Capacity is only one part of the requirement. Operators need cold stores that can handle volume efficiently, protect product integrity, and connect to wider distribution networks without adding unnecessary handling steps. A single-depot, multi-temperature model can reduce complexity for suppliers moving between manufacturing sites, cold storage, consolidation, and retail delivery points.
The investment sits alongside a wider push to improve control inside cold-chain operations. Inventory accuracy in sub-zero environments is being targeted by automation specialists, as covered in Corvus targets freezer inventory with autonomous drones. Reusable logistics assets are also being redesigned for automated FMCG and food supply chains, with Tosca and Cabka launch circular pallet system showing how pallet design is becoming part of the same efficiency agenda.
UK logistics property is also changing. Modern facilities increasingly need to be designed around automation readiness, electrical capacity, temperature zoning, and operational flexibility, a theme explored in From Sheds to Systems: Fit-Out Is the New Frontier in UK Logistics.
For food manufacturers, the Bardon expansion adds capacity in a market where temperature-controlled storage cannot be treated as a generic warehousing requirement. Frozen goods need tight process control, reliable energy infrastructure, trained labour, and fast onward movement. Retailer supply chains also demand short lead times, accurate allocation, and resilience when peaks or product changes arrive with limited notice.
Oakland’s new cold store strengthens a multi-temperature model built around fewer handovers, broader service capability, and strategic location. As food supply chains continue to balance cost, freshness, waste reduction, and service levels, the most useful cold-chain infrastructure will be the kind that removes operational friction rather than simply adding pallet slots.
