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Who's who IN TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED LOGISTICS - Global Cold Chain News
Who’s who
IN TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED LOGISTICS

A guide to major players in the UK temperature-controlled industry including own
 account operators, logistics providers, body and trailer builders, van converters
                   and truck refrigeration equipment suppliers

                                      Prepared by
Who's who IN TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED LOGISTICS - Global Cold Chain News
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

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Who's who IN TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED LOGISTICS - Global Cold Chain News
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Contents
4      Executive summary

5-6    Size and shape of industry

7-10   Logistics providers

11-14 Top 25 Logistics providers

15-19 Own account operators

20-22 Coldstore operators

23-24 Investment and consolidation

26-29 Courier services

30-32 Brexit

33-36 Van converters

37     Trailer and body builders

38     Refrigeration manufacturers

39     About the publisher

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Who's who IN TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED LOGISTICS - Global Cold Chain News
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Executive Summary
This report sets out the size and scale of the British
temperature-controlled transport, logistics and storage market,
listing the top logistics providers, own account operators, cold
store operators and other specialist suppliers to the industry
for vehicles, plant and equipment.
The report is prepared by Cold Chain News and its website, Global Cold Chain News,
the UK’s leading business-to-business magazine and website for the sector, and
draws on extensive research carried out by the magazine, with contributions from
companies in the sector as well as other published sources of information including
government sources such as the DVLA, Department for Transport, Companies
House, and VOSA.

                                                                                      The information has been collected between January
                                                                                      and December 2018.

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Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Size and Shape of the industry
The United Kingdom is one of the top markets for Europe's cold
chain industry in terms of storage space, which is 24 million
cubic metres in 2018.
The massive food and drinks segment continues to dominate the cold chain industry,
but in recent times, there has been an exponential growth in the pharmaceutical
sector, with the emergence of various significantly sized refrigerated pharmaceutical
transport logistics companies. For example, Gefco Group opened its life sciences
and healthcare dedicated temperature-controlled warehouse in the United Kingdom
in January 2017. The new 1,400 square metre warehouse facility is expected to
expand its presence in the UK healthcare sector.

Food accounts for 17% of goods lifted in the UK
by weight1 and it is the principal commodity for
temperature-controlled transport in Britain.

The large supermarkets contract much of their logistics to third party suppliers
but also handle large volumes using their own vehicles. Logistics accounts for
a major share of the costs incurred in the supply and retail of food products.
Many food products are perishable and require continuous cooling for preservation.
The energy consumed to maintain the right temperature has significant cost
implications, leading to outsourcing of logistics by companies seeking more efficient
storage and transport.

Greater automation of warehousing and handling is contributing to the growth of
the overall storage and transport space. The top five logistics providers in the UK
alone operate over half a million square metres of cold storage. Total refrigerated
storage capacity in the EU is some 60 million cubic metres. The principal method
of transport in Britain is a refrigerated 13.5 metre trailer, the largest allowed under
current regulations. These refrigerated trailers account for some 15% of the total
trailer fleet on the roads2. Urban deliveries to smaller retail outlets and food outlets
usually entails smaller vehicles – typically 18 and 7.5 tonners, with home delivery,
also temperature controlled, mainly handled by 3.5 tonne vans.

New legislation governing the storage and transport of chilled and frozen foods
has meant a big increase in the demand for refrigerated vehicles. This demand is
not only for more vehicles, but also for a greater range of types and sizes to suit
a host of new applications. As a result, there are now more bodybuilders becoming
involved in the construction of refrigerated vehicles, and those traditionally
involved are facing new challenges posed by unfamiliar types of vehicle.

Refrigeration is provided mainly by diesel engine powered fridges although there
is growing demand for diesel-free alternatives, especially for urban deliveries.

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Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

There is also growing use of all-electric refrigeration systems taking power from
a truck engine powered alternator. The truck engine meets far more stringent
emissions regulations than does the fridge diesel engine so such vehicles have an
environmental benefit. Chiiled prepared food, rather than frozen prepared food,
accounts for a large proportion of UK food sales so multi-compartment vehicles,
capable of carrying frozen and chilled, and also ambient temperature goods are
prevalent in the UK unlike the continent which has a much higher proportion of
frozen food sales and where single-temperature vehicles are the norm.

The ability and demand to capture and analyse huge amounts of data as goods
travel through supply chains will continue. Big data allows predictive analytics,
now essential in developing supply chain strategies, to improve the effectiveness
and efficiency of processes. It is how supply chain networks will meet the need to
become more resilient and reliable in the coming year, in order to better manage
more volatile demand as well as pressures on margins.

The green movement will continue to challenge the road transport industry.
The UK government is committed to reducing carbon emissions and the pressure
on business to deliver will only intensify. While low-carbon initiatives have been,
for many transport providers, nothing but a box-ticking exercise this ‘business as
usual’ approach is changing. Reducing carbon reduces cost, which stands to reason:
you use less resource and less energy. Innovation and the use of new technologies
will become more commonplace as temperature-controlled transport operators
strive to deliver low-carbon solutions.

Brexit threatens a huge upheaval in existing
distribution patterns and potentially threatens
enormous upheaval in key segments, like the food
industry, as well as the logistics industry.

With around 30% of food imports coming from the European Union and almost
a fifth of food and drink exports heading to Ireland, closed borders are expected
to have a negative effect. Additionally, Brexit is expected to create labour shortages,
(there are already shortages of truck drivers and warehouse staff in the UK),
and create new challenges around border controls.

                                                                                          1
                                                                                              Department for Transport
                                                                                          2
                                                                                              Department for Transport

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Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Logistics Providers
This report uses the Cold Chain News Top 25 listing for
2018 which shows a steady growth in turnover of the
top companies.
There is no change in the top eight positions, all retained by the same companies in
the same order in the previous three years. But there have been some spectacular
rises in turnover as a result of acquisitions: NFT’s turnover was up 27% to £202.2m,
partially as a result of its purchase of NR Evans. However, EBITDA was down from
£7.5m to £6.5m, which the company said reflected continued investment in the
business to increase its capacity to facilitate future growth. Loss before interest and
tax for the year was reported at £4.3 million compared to a loss of £13.4 million the
year before.

Heath Zarin, chairman of NFT and managing director of EmergeVest (NFT’s owner), said:

“We are pleased with the progress made during financial
  year 2017, which positions us well to achieve our
  strategic objectives. We have gained further momentum
  in financial year 2018 and look forward to exciting
  announcements in the near-term.”
The company said it made significant progress on its multi-year strategic plan;
achieving record revenue; completing the acquisition of NR Evans Holdings in July
2016; increasing activity levels at the new multi-temperature logistics facility at the
Port of Tilbury; and winning significant new business.

Culina and Turners – both in the top five ranking – reported turnover up 14% with
Yearsley close behind with an 11% increase. Fowler Welch was up 13% to £163m.
Fowler Welch gained volumes from its Dairy Crest operation at Nuneaton, which
commenced in June 2016, while the operations at Teynham and Heywood also saw
new volumes come on line, Philip Meeson, executive chairman, said in a statement.

Reed Boardall, one of the few single site operators, saw turnover down 6% to
£60.2m and profit slump 80% to £840,646 (2016: £4.2m) in the financial year to end
March 2017. The company blamed the fall on an “exceptionally busy” Christmas.
In the previous financial year ending March 2016 turnover fell slightly to £64.3m
from £65.9m due to a contract loss mid 2015.

Among those companies with turnover under £50m, Chiltern Cold Storage produced
the best performance with a 28% increase in turnover to £28m. Other good
performances were from McCulla Ireland with turnover up 20% to £23m and
Buffaload up 13% to £19m.

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Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

A relative newcomer, but fast growing is NewCold, a frozen warehousing and distribution
service provider. In 2015 NewCold made its first foray into the UK, opening an ambitious,
highly automated, 40m-high cold storage plant on a green field site in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
The coldstore is combined with an expanding in-house transport operation, consisting of
 48 trailers and 36 tractors, including double-deck trailers to minimise food miles and
emissions. It reported a 33% increase in turnover to £16m. New Cold operates frozen cold
stores in the UK, France, Germany and Poland.

The temperature-controlled market in the UK remains in good health with talk of expansion,
investment, and acquisition. However, concerns remain about continuing price pressures
with increases in turnover not being matched by profit increases. And there is still the huge
uncertainty that Brexit will have on the industry which as yet is nowhere near quantifiable.

Other trends to watch out for are more joint ventures such as Culina’s partnership with
Irish chilled and frozen distribution firm Morgan McLernon and Oakland’s partnership
with Spanish company Carbó to open European trade corridors for producers. It seems
a certainty that consolidation among the larger players, long a feature of the road transport
sector, will intensify.

UK temperature-controlled operators remain bullish about the
market despite growing evidence that the UK economy is under
performing. Key economic indicators for the UK economy show
that it slowed to a virtual standstill in the first three months
of 2018, the weakest period of activity in more than five years.
UK truck sales, which are an accurate barometer, providing early warning of economic
performance, have fallen for the third consecutive quarter.3 Government figures show retail
sales, including food, in the three months to March 2018 down by 0.5%. Data from the
OECD shows inward investment into Britain slumped by $181bn over the last year; outward
investment has boomed by $120bn, one of the biggest one-year turnarounds by any country
ever recorded. Yet the road transport sector is remarkably optimistic about business growth.
The majority of UK fleets predict business will grow next year in spite of challenges including
Brexit, new environmental legislation and driver shortages, says research published
by Asset Alliance Group.4

The Top 25 survey of temperature-controlled operators sees a similar optimism with
operators bullish about growth despite ongoing concerns about Brexit and the potential
effects on the supply chain. The managing director of Armoric Freight International is just
one logistics professional who believes that Brexit is a huge unknown for the supply chain
sector. Marc Payne said: “Brexit remains a challenge for the future, but until we know the
final outcome of negotiations with the European Union it is difficult to predict what effects
the outcome may have on our business.”

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Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

NV Transport managing director Steven Zwinkels also has concerns about the future. “Border
control will be the next big issue to deal with as to what procedures need to be followed with
goods coming into ports and how that affects the supply chain.”

Overall, though, most temperature-controlled operators feel positive about business
performance. Oakland International’s managing director Shaun Foley said: “The market has
been tough with a lot of uncertainty over Brexit creating nervousness amongst our overseas
clients but this appears to have settled down.”

Turners of Soham predicts continued growth. Stephen Blackmore, from Turners’ transport
department, said: “The business focus remains the same as in previous years, with growth
through the acquisitions and from within our existing customer base.”

Some companies saw their plans come to fruition this year. For Yearsley Logistics this means
the completion of its £65m investment in Peterborough, SuperHub South. Other companies
with big plans for 2018 include Virginia Transport, NewCold and Dale Brothers. Virginia
Transport’s managing director Ray Cole said the company was opening a new 4,645sq metre
warehouse in Kells, County Meath.

NewCold Advanced Cold Logistics UK managing director Jon Miles said:

“2018 saw us grow our transport operation further.
 Our warehouse was extended to accommodate an additional
 88,000 pallet spaces, making Wakefield the largest single
 site temperature-controlled warehouse in the UK.”
Fleet expansion is also on the horizon for some companies. Dale Brothers was looking at
investing in 20 new refrigerated trailers to update some of its fleet and add extra for new
business it has taken on board. Cold Move was also set on expansion. Managing director
James Woodward, said: “2018 saw us expand our coldstore operations with the development
of a new coldstore at our Maes y Clawdd site in Oswestry. This will give us a further 2,700
pallet spaces on site.”

Meanwhile, other companies are revelling in their 2017 successes. NFT Distribution’s chief
executive Ross Eggleton, says that its flagship Tilbury warehouse has proven successful. “The
momentum of interest we are experiencing is testament to the scale of operations and large
volume of fresh produce we're capable of handling,” said Eggleton.

Fowler Welch managing director Nick Hay points to a £2m upgrade of the company’s
Spalding chilled warehouse to increase capacity as one of the highlights of 2017.

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Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Grocontinental joint managing director Linda Grocott, said that a key highlight of 2017
was the “successful implementation and integration of the Arla business in year one of our
partnership”, following the construction of a new 32,000 chilled pallet dedicated maturation
site. Agro Merchants Group bought Grocontinental in December 2017. Agro said at the
time that the purchase “reinforces Agro’s position as the leading cold storage and logistics
provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland, deepens its commodity expertise, and
substantially enhances its value-added service offerings for customers”. Grocontinental
is the third significant investment by Agro in the UK and Ireland, following the 2014 purchase
of Castlecool and the 2015 acquisition of the Sawyers Group.

A complicating factor is the ongoing saga that is Brexit. The UK’s logistics industry expected
continued success in 2018 despite the uncertainties posed by Brexit and continued
economic instability, according to the Freight Transport Association Logistics Report 2018.
It polled the opinions of around 500 freight and logistics businesses operating in the UK
and internationally. Elizabeth de Jong, director of UK policy, Freight Transport Association,
said: “Respondents to this year’s FTA Logistics Report were generally positive about their
2017 trading performance, and the prospects for their respective sectors. However, with
inflationary pressures at home and abroad and the uncertainty of trading relationships
post-Brexit, it is clear that many operators are far from confident about their future
business prospects.”

"Leaving the EU Customs Union and single market has big
  consequences for supply chains and the continuity of the
  UK's European trade," said James Hookham, deputy chief
  executive, Freight Transport Association.

                                                                                                 3
                                                                                                     Society of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Traders
                                                                                                 4
                                                                                                     www.assetalliancegroup.co.uk/news

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TOP
        Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

                                                                             TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED LOGISTICS PROVIDERS

                                         Turnover              Turnover     Tractor   Trailer   Temp-           Industry expertise and customer base
Rank   Company                           2017         %        2016         fleet     fleet     control
                                         £ millions   change   £ millions                       pallet store
                                                                                                sq metres

1                                        437          +5       417          914       1,395     128,700         Gist, owned by the Linde Group, operates
                                                                                                                in the UK, Europe, Asia, South America and
                                                                                                                South Africa providing transport and logistics
                                                                                                                for industrial, food, beverage companies
       Gist                                                                                                     including perishable and chilled products.
       Basingstoke, Hampshire                                                                                   Gist has 20 UK depots. Customers include
       www.gistworld.com/services                                                                               Marks and Spencer, (Gist handles all M&S
       Martin Gwynn, chief executive                                                                            food storage and distribution) Eat, Starbucks,
                                                                                                                Young’s Seafood

2                                        431          +14      379          1,000     3,000     102,193         Culina Group has 50 UK depots and provides
                                                                                                                chilled and ambient temperature logistics for
                                                                                                                food and drink suppliers. Services include
       Culina Logistics
                                                                                                                warehousing, distribution, and contract
       Market Drayton, Shropshire
                                                                                                                packing. Culina entered the food and drink
       www.culina.co.uk
                                                                                                                logistics market in 1994 from a single site
       Thomas van Mourik,
                                                                                                                operation then rapidly expanded in the UK. In
       chief executive
                                                                                                                2007 it took over Bristol-based Baylis Logistics
                                                                                                                to create a business with sales of £125m.
                                                                                                                And in 2009 it took over Wincanton’s chilled
                                                                                                                consolidation activities at the Trafford Park
                                                                                                                and Gloucester multi-user sites. It bought the
                                                                                                                logistics business of Cert Octavian in 2012. In
                                                                                                                2016 Culina bought Great Bear Distribution to
                                                                                                                create a £400m turnover business employing
                                                                                                                5,000 people

3                                        313          +14      275          1,400     2,000     90,000
                                                                                                                Turners boosted its presence in the
                                                                                                                temperature-controlled sector in 2012 when
                                                                                                pallets
                                                                                                                it bought Browns Chilled Distribution, a
                                                                                                                £35m turnover chilled transport business
                                                                                                                with 120 trucks based in Spalding. Turners
                                                                                                                has 32 depots and its temperature-
       Turners (Soham)                                                                                          controlled division is BRC accredited
       Newmarket, Suffolk                                                                                       with a core fleet of 300 vehicles. Turners
       www.turners-distribution.com                                                                             handles frozen and chilled and provides a
       Paul Day, managing director                                                                              consolidation service for all temperatures
                                                                                                                from its Newmarket centre

4                                        212          +11      191          200       300       146,700
                                                                                                                Yearsley specialises in frozen foods with
                                                                                                                300 vehicles, 12 coldstores and three hubs
                                                                                                                delivering over 12,000 pallets per day.
                                                                                                                Yearsley Logistics has BRC and ISO 14001
       Yearsley Logistics                                                                                       accreditation and is one of the first companies
       Heywood, Lancashire                                                                                      in the UK to be working towards ISO26000. It
       www.yearsley.co.uk                                                                                       is a member of the BFFF, FSDF and the RHA
       Tim Moran, managing director

5                                        202          +27      158          637       831       70,000         NFT Distribution, a management buyout from
                                                                                                               Northern Foods in 2006, was bought in 2014
                                                                                                               by Hong Kong-based private equity investor
                                                                                                               EmergeVest. The deal valued the company at
                                                                                                               £60m. The transaction included integrated debt
       NFT Distribution                                                                                        funding of up to £42m provided by Investec
                                                                                                               Growth & Acquisition Finance. NFT Distribution
       Alfreton , Derbyshire
       www.nft.co.uk
                                                                                                               has 15 depots and provides primary and
       David Frankish, chief executive                                                                         secondary distribution channels, of chilled, frozen
                                                                                                               and ambient foodstuffs picking around 3.3 million
                                                                                                               cases per week and delivering around 130,000
                                                                                                               pallets of food and drink to UK grocers each week

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Rank   Company                            Turnover     %        Turnover     Tractor   Trailer   Temp-           Industry expertise and customer base
                                          2017                  2016         fleet     fleet     control
                                                       change
                                          £ millions            £ millions                       pallet store
                                                                                                 sq metres

                                          163          +13      144          450       710       46,452          Fowler Welch operates from 9 depots. It
6                                                                                                                is owned by airline business Dart Group
                                                                                                                 and provides ambient and temperature-
                                                                                                                 controlled food distribution in the UK. Kent-
       Fowler Welch                                                                                              based Coolchain was bought by Dart in 1994
       Spalding, Lincolnshire                                                                                    and merged with Fowler Welch. Fowler Welch
       www.fowlerwelch.co.uk                                                                                     customers include Natures Way, Dairy Crest,
       Nick Hay, managing director                                                                               Direct Produce Supplies

7                                         139          +7       130          290       355       159,000        UK-based Nagel Langdons has 8 depots and
                                                                                                 cubic          provides chilled and frozen food distribution, part
                                                                                                 metres         or truck load, storage and picking. It is part of the
       Nagel Langdons                                                                                           family-owned, Germany-based Nagel-Group that
       Bridgewater, Somerset                                                                                    provides food logistics in Europe
       www.nagel-group.com
       Arran Osman, managing director

8                                         60           -6       64           180       300       60,000         Reed Boardall operates from a 22 hectare site in
                                                                                                                Boroughbridge, Yorkshire providing temperature-
                                                                                                                controlled food distribution in the UK. The family-
                                                                                                                owned business stores and delivers frozen food
                                                                                                                from manufacturers in Britain, Europe and further
       Keith Boardall                                                                                           afield to UK supermarkets. The 80-vehicle fleet
       Boroughbridge, Yorkshire,                                                                                moves an average of 12,000 pallets a day storing
       www.reedboardall.com                                                                                     around £100m worth of products
       Keith Boardall, chief executive

9      FreshLinc                          45           -39      74           374       660                      FreshLinc serves retailers, food manufacturers,
       Spalding, Lincolnshire                                                                                   growers and importers handling temperature-
       www.freshlinc.com                                                                                        controlled fresh, chilled and horticultural
       Robin Hancox, managing director                                                                          products in the UK and continent. It also
                                                                                                                transports flowers, plants and fresh produce from
                                                                                                                Holland, Belgium and Spain. In 2003 it opened
                                                                                                                a purpose-built distribution centre on a 13-acre
                                                                                                                site in Wardentree Park, Spalding, Lincolnshire
                                                                                                                with additional operating centres opened in
                                                                                                                Normanton in 2006 and in Evesham in 2009

10                                        37           +6       35           61        120       168,000        Grocontinental provides in-bound and out-
                                                                                                 pallets        bound UK and European transport and multi-
       Grocontinental                                                                                           temperature warehousing for the food industry
       Whitchurch, Shropshire
       www.grocontinental.co.uk
       David Grocott and Linda Grocott,
       joint managing directors

11                                        28           +28      22           44        52        31,500          Chiltern provides temperature-controlled
                                                                                                                 storage, distribution, packing, freezing
               www.chiltern.co                                                                                   and tempering and case picking in the
                                                                                                                 UK and Europe. Customers include food
       Chiltern Cold                                                                                             manufacturers, retailers, foodservice
       Storage                                                                                                   distributors, produce markets, independent
       Peterborough, Cambridgeshire                                                                              supermarkets and exporters
       www.chiltern.co
       Paul Jackson, managing director

12
       Moores                             26           +6       25           160       225                       Moores Refrigeration Controlled Transport
       Refrigeration                                                                                             operates five depots and is BRC accredited.
       Controlled Transport                                                                                      The company, which is family-owned, set up
       Eye, Suffolk                                                                                              in 1969
       www.mrct.co.uk
       Adrian Moore, managing director

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Rank   Company                             Turnover     %        Turnover     Tractor   Trailer   Temp-          Industry expertise and customer base
                                           2017                  2016         fleet     fleet     control
                                                        change
                                           £ millions            £ millions                       pallet store
                                                                                                  sq metres

13     McCulla (Ireland)                   23           +20      19           90        145       26,000         McCulla transports chilled, ambient and
       Lisburn, Northern Ireland                                                                                 frozen goods in Ireland, the United Kingdom
       www.mcculla.co.uk                                                                                         and Europe. The 8,000sq metre chilled and
       Ashley McCulla, managing                                                                                  frozen warehouse uses the Accellos One
       director                                                                                                  programme for picking and all vehicles
                                                                                                                 have tracking and temperature monitoring
                                                                                                                 systems

14                                         21           +9       19           110       320       1,424          Virginia International Logistics is a family-
                                                                                                                 owned business with bases in Co Cavan
                                                                                                                 and Dublin in Ireland, and Tamworth in the
                                                                                                                 UK. It offers groupage, part and full-load
       Virginia Transport                                                                                        services to food manufacturers, electronics,
                                                                                                                 and pharmaceutical companies. It provides
       Co Cavan, Ireland
                                                                                                                 temperature monitoring and tracking of all
       www.virginialogistics.ie
                                                                                                                 loads with split fridges, multi-temp units and
       Ray Cole, managing director
                                                                                                                 double deck fridge trailers

15                                         20           +7       19                               22,500         Oakland provides storage, picking, contract
                                                                                                                 packing, co-packing and logistics primarily
                                                                                                                 in Britain and Ireland. It offers customers
       Oakland                                                                                                   reduced transport costs, using prime routes
       International                                                                                             to market. All volume clients catered for, with
       Redditch, Worcestershire                                                                                  the opportunity to supply every major UK
       www.oakland-international.com                                                                             and Irish retailer via Oakland International’s
       Dean Attwell, chief executive                                                                             case and pallet consolidation platforms

16                                         19           +13      17           166       192                      Buffaload has a double-deck and single-
                                                                                                                 deck temperature-controlled fleet handling
                                                                                                                 frozen and chill goods. Supporting this is
                                                                                                                 Buffaload Express, a temperature controlled
       Buffaload Logistics                                                                                       and ambient courier service operating in
       Ellington, Cambridgeshire                                                                                 the UK and Europe handling smaller cargo
       www.buffaload.co.uk                                                                                       requirements – from miscellaneous loads,
       Julie Feltwell, managing director                                                                         including single pallets and specialist items,
                                                                                                                 to deep frozen goods and parcels

17
       Matthews                            18           0        18           150       170                      Norfolk-based Matthews International
       International                                                                                             Transport started in 1971 delivering with
       Transport                                                                                                 its own refrigerated trailers smoked fish
       Great Yarmouth, Norfolk                                                                                   to Italy and Greece, and also collecting
       www.matthewstransport.co.uk                                                                               unaccompanied trailers from the
       Russell Matthews,                                                                                         Netherlands arriving in the UK
       managing director

18     Peter Green Chilled                 16           +3       16           50        60        11,600         Peter Green Chilled provides chilled, frozen
       (Mann Group)                                                                                              and ambient logistics services in the UK and
       Shepton Mallet, Somerset                                                                                  Europe. Multi-temperature vehicles deliver to
       www.petergreenchilled.co.uk                                                                               the UK and Ireland, while European services
       Tom Binks, managing director                                                                              provide daily deliveries to cover Belgium,
                                                                                                                 Netherlands and and France. Benelux is
                                                                                                                 an on wheels service with France served
                                                                                                                 through consolidation hubs in Chevilly, Paris
                                                                                                                 and Carvin, Lille. All European countries are
                                                                                                                 served through an accredited European
                                                                                                                 partner network

       / 13
Rank   Company                         Turnover     %        Turnover     Tractor   Trailer   Temp-          Industry expertise and customer base
                                       2017                  2016         fleet     fleet     control
                                                    change
                                       £ millions            £ millions                       pallet store
                                                                                              sq metres

19     Rick Bestwick                   16           +15      14                               82,367         Rick Bestwick is part of Magnavale Group,
       Chesterfield, Derbyshire                                                                              a grouping of family-run operations. Rick
       www.rickbestwick.com                                                                                  Bestwick provides frozen, deep chilled,
       Kevin Hancock, managing                                                                               chilled and ambient storage and distribution
       director

20                                     16           +33      12           50        75        143,000        NewCold is a Netherlands-based business
                                                                                              pallets        primarily providing distribution and storage
                                                                                                             of frozen foods for manufacturers. Westport
       NewCold                                                                                               Capital Partners , a US private equity firm, is
       Wakefield, Yorkshire                                                                                  its main shareholder funding new projects
       www.newcold.com                                                                                       and supporting long term services. NewCold
       Jon Miles, UK director                                                                                has opened new sites in the US and Australia
                                                                                                             as well the UK

21
       Dale Brothers                   10           +4       10           68        90                       Dale Brothers provides temperature-
       Telford, Shropshire                                                                                   controlled transport handling pallet to full
       www.dalebrothers.co.uk                                                                                load services. Dale transports raw food
       Jeff Dale, managing director                                                                          materials and finished products for delivery
                                                                                                             to retailers

22
       H E Payne Transport             10           -1       10           70        120                      H E Payne Transport operates one tonne
       Wyboston, Bedfordshire                                                                                panic vans and 44 tonne refrigerated
       www.hepayne.co.uk                                                                                     vehicles transporting ambient, chilled and
       Richard Payne, managing                                                                               frozen goods. It provides single pallet and full
       director                                                                                              load services and ambient warehousing

23
       NV Transport                    10           +31      8            40        50                       NV Transport and its partner companies, NV
       Chichester, West Sussex                                                                               Produce and Madestein UK deliver foods
       www.nvtransport.co.uk                                                                                 and provide groupage transport for retailers
       Steven Zwinkels,                                                                                      including Lidl. NV Transport also collects and
       managing director                                                                                     delivers ambient and temperature-controlled
                                                                                                             products daily to and from Jersey

24
       Armoric Freight                 9            +7       8            16        22        52             Armoric Freight started as a forwarding
       International                                                                          pallets        company with strong links with the Brittany
       Plymouth                                                                                              area of France which it has maintained while
       www.armoric.co.uk                                                                                     expanding its services to western Europe.
       Marc Payne, managing director                                                                         It now operates in France, the Netherlands,
                                                                                                             Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal,
                                                                                                             providing temperature-controlled deliveries.
                                                                                                             All movements are driver-accompanied

25
       Kingbrook                       9            0        9            10        10                       Kingbrook provides transport and forwarding
       Dover, Kent                                                                                           to mainland Europe with driver-accompanied
       www.kingbrook.co.uk                                                                                   services for temperature-controlled and
       Kevin King, managing director                                                                         ambient cargo. It also has ambient, frozen
                                                                                                             and chilled warehousing

Cold Chain News Top 25 temperature-controlled logistics annual ranking sponsored by
       / 14
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Own Account Operators
The UK temperature-controlled own account sector is
dominated by supermarkets which themselves dominate
the entire temperature-controlled industry. Supermarkets
are the principal driver of the cold chain market in the
UK with their substantial own account operations and
substantial use of third party logistics providers.
This is reinforced by the concentration of buying power with 71% market share
in the hands of four supermarket chains, Tesco 30%, Asda 17%, Sainsbury’s 17%,
and Morrisons 12.5%.5 The UK grocery sector is one of the most sophisticated in the
world, with the four leading supermarket chains competing fiercely for customers
with an ever growing popularity of the discount chains, Aldi and Lidl especially.
Semi-prepared foods, often chilled, are estimated to account for around half of
household food expenditure. This trend continues to be a major driving force in
the UK food industry.

In numbers, there are 86,332 grocery stores in the UK
selling £178bn annually. Of that number, there are 5,530
large supermarkets selling £88.5bn worth of goods.
The grocery sector continues to record the strongest
growth in retailing in the UK driven by modern
grocery retailers.
Convenience stores, discounters and online grocery retailing are the formats
which are seeing the strongest expansion, with major chains opening smaller stores
in city and town centres while limiting the expansion of large format outlets in
out-of-town locations. By 2021, the total value of the UK grocery market will grow
9.9% to £196.9 billion.6

Online grocery shopping will remain the biggest growing channel with an increase
of 68% over the next 5 years. It is still a small part of overall sales (5%) and very
expensive to service, particularly the need for multi-compartment vans to handle
home deliveries of frozen, chilled and ambient produce. By 2021 discounters will
be worth £24.9 billion and convenience stores will remain the third fastest growing
sector with sales increasing from £37.5bn in 2016 to £41.9bn by 2021.

The value of the UK online grocery market has seen tremendous growth in recent
years and in April 2016 was valued at £9.3bn. Online grocery sales are predicted
to reach £17.6bn by 2021 as the internet becomes more widely used and relied
upon by UK shoppers. Online grocery shopping is now offered by UK supermarket
chains Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and most recently by Morrisons through
a link with Ocado which originally exclusively sold Waitrose products.

/ 15
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Aldi and Lidl, the German owned discount chains do not offer an online service.
Outside of these suppliers, the market is mainly populated by a wide range of niche,
specialised retailers, many of which offer products that are not always available in
major supermarkets.

Online sales are being driven by three trends: access to the internet, geographic
location and convenience. Some 29% of adults now do all or most of their grocery
shopping online – confirming the UK’s leadership in online grocery retailing in
Europe, but still, less than 5% of the total food retailers’ sector sales are online.
The highest number of users of internet shopping is located in Scotland, followed
by East Anglia and the Midlands, all rural areas. London also has a large number
of internet shoppers but lower rates of car ownership in London might account
for this.

Online grocery shopping is rapidly growing; the boom in sales of tablets and smart
phones has meant more access to online shopping. New players will provide
more choice to shoppers. In 2016, Aldi launched “Special buys” and “wine online”.
AmazonFresh has also launched in the UK. The UK convenience sector (similar to
7/11 stores in the United States) is thriving as shoppers respond positively to the
greater choice of high quality local stores helping them shop a little at a time but
often. All the major food retailers are increasing their convenience store openings.
Franchises are also investing in their stores meaning that it is anticipated that the
convenience sector will represent almost a quarter of the grocery market by 2021.
Sales through larger format stores such as hypermarkets and superstores are
expected to decline 3% over the next five years as consumers choose to shop in
alternative places.

The value of the UK online grocery market has seen
tremendous growth in recentyears and in April 2016 was
valued at £9.3bn. Online grocery sales are predicted
to reach £17.6bn by 2021 as the internet becomes more
widely used and relied upon by UK shoppers.
Food and grocery expenditures account for 50.2 pence in every £1.00 of retail
spending (excluding restaurants). Twenty one pence in every £1.00 spent on food
and grocery is spent in convenience stores.

The UK has one of the most advanced private label markets in the world (valued at
around $100 billion). The UK's major supermarket chains dominate the private label
market and on average 47% of products in its stores are private label, including wide
ranges of prepared foods sold as chilled. Originally, private label goods were a copy
of a branded product, but today they are often innovative. They give UK retailers the
opportunity to diversify their product ranges and develop new revenue streams.

/ 16
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

The extreme of UK private label grocery shopping can be seen by visiting a Marks
and Spencer (M&S) food hall where 85% of what M&S sells is own-label goods.
Most M&S customers buy the majority of their food from other mainstream grocery
retailers. They use M&S for special occasions, for convenience food such as ready-
meals and as a top-up to their regular shop by buying a few luxury items. M&S
consistently offers innovative, high quality and rigorously checked food.

Food prices have decreased in recent years due to the success of the discounters
and competition. However, since the UK vote to leave Europe in June 2016, sterling
has weakened significantly. Given that the UK imports around 40% of all food
consumed domestically, food prices are expected to increase in the near future as a
result of the weaker pound. In the last few years the UK has witnessed a remarkable
shift in how and where consumers choose to buy their food, with the discounters
and online shopping being the winners.

                                                                                      5
                                                                                          Kantoor Wordlpanel
                                                                                      6
                                                                                          USFA Foreign Agricultiural Service report 2016

/ 17
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Temperature Controlled own account operators by turnover

 Company                       Turnover (M)   Turnover (M)   Turnover (M)   Turnover (M)
                               2017           2016           2015           2014

 Dairy Crest                   395,700        925,500        1,247          1,332

 Tesco                         49,900         54,433         62,284         63,557

 Lidl UK                       41,526         38,277         34,162         30,722

 PRM Group                                    27,490         9,059          8,900

 J Sainsbury                   26,224         23,506         23,775         23,949

 Asda Stores                                  21,408         22,066         23,157

 W M Morrison                  16,317         16,122         16,816         17,680
                                              10,555         10,311         10,310
 Marks & Spencer               10,622

 Quayside Frozen Foods                                       9,500          8,700

 Aldi Stores                                  8,744          7,705          6,900

 Waitrose                      6,505          6,339          6,387          5,996

 Brake Bros                    3,701          5,998          3,295          3,094

 Booker                        3,701          3,767          3,894          3,810

 Iceland Foods                 2,770          2,658          2,682          2,699

 Arla Foods                                   2,347          2,575

 Müller UK & Ireland Group                    1,984          1,337          4E

 Farmfoods                                    669            694            812

 E H Booth & Co                263            277            279            282

 JJ Foodservice                               179            182            182.6

 Creed Foodservice             62.8           58.7           58.9           55.7

 Braces Bakery                 27.4           29.5           32.8           34.4

 Consort Frozen Foods                         24             21.7           23

 Bidcorp (UK)                  20.5           19.6           12.7           n/a

 Total Foodservice Solutions   18.9           17.7           17.2           16.7

/ 18
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Temperature controlled own account operators by fleet size

 Company fleet size 2018             Vehicles   Trailers

 Asda Stores                         2,934      4,581

 Tesco                               2,343      4,061

 Muller UK & Ireland Group           1,922      1,155

 Brake Bros                          1,737      173

 Booker                              813        0

 W M Morrison Supermarkets           810        1,900
                                                1,025
 Aldi Stores                         794

 Arla Foods                          695        687

 Co-op                               631        592

 Farmfoods                           179        260

 Braces Bakery                       72         16

 Creed Foodservice                   71         4

 PRM Group                           40         40

 E H Booth & Co                      24         14

 Ilfracombe Wholesale Grocers        22         0

                                                             NOTES
                                                             1.Turnover as per Companies House
                                                             2. Vehicle numbers as per VOSA Operating Licence

/ 19
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Coldstore Operators
Cold store operators are already weighing up the
implications of a disorderly Brexit on their industry as the
clock ticks towards the March 2019 deadline.
Oakland International chief executive Dean Attwell is open about the effects
on customers and on his own company. “We are seeing increasing levels of
nervousness amongst some of our European clients who are currently considering
increasing their stockholding levels as part of a risk management strategy to
safeguard against possible delays at borders,” says Attwell. “We are also currently
increasing our frozen capacity at both -18 and -25 categories to account for
increased demand for our frozen storage clients.”

Andrew Baldwin, managing director of Reed Boardall’s cold storage division, warns
that European companies will struggle to find logistics partners as demand grows.
“I believe that in the short to mid-term, available storage will become premium
although defined border policies may see a longer term decline in hauliers who see
existing routes as no longer viable.“ It is fair to say that the open border policy we
currently enjoy will almost certainly be restricted once the UK has left Europe. As a
result, European manufacturers wishing to compete in the UK frozen food market
will need to secure a robust logistics and storage solution that will allow today’s high
demand, quick turnaround order profile to continue. As demand increases, finding
these suitable logistics partners on which you can rely for consistent, responsive
service, will become more difficult.” Does Reed Boardall anticipate that delivery times
(ie storage) will increase as a consequence of a possible disorganised Brexit? “It is
inevitable that inbound delivery times will be impacted, longer stocks will need to be
held in 3PLs to bridge this gap, however, this should not have a knock-on effect on
delivery scheduling into the end user,” says Baldwin.

In terms of finding skilled labour in the UK, recruitment will certainly be even more
of a hot topic post Brexit, warns Baldwin. “Initial concerns would be for businesses
that are heavily reliant on agency workers and jobs will be far more available. It is,
therefore, more important than ever to establish a solid workforce now: location will
also be key in retaining staff.”

Jon Miles, country director at NewCold, says: “In all likelihood we will see an increase
in requirement for temperature-controlled storage in the UK. In which locations
will there be most demand? This will very much depend on food producers, and
whether they currently already have storage arrangements and distribution
arrangements in the UK, plus where final delivery locations will be to get most
efficient supply chain. If there is an increase around ports it would seem logical that
these will be the key ports on the east coast.” Overall, Miles says that it is difficult to
predict any short-term market changes and trends when it comes to cold storage
until the exact details of the final negotiations are known. “Our thoughts are that we
are likely to see more product stored in the UK, and for longer, due to lead time and
supply chain risks on importing from Europe,” Miles says.

/ 20
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Company                    Location                                    Frozen           Chilled          Ambient          Other services
                                                                       (cubic metres)   (cubic metres)   (cubic metres)

Chiltern Cold              Bourne, Highbridge, Livingston,             9,500            22,000           7,500            Co-packing, stock control,
                           Peterborough, Whittlesey                                                                       pharmaceutical storage and
Storage Group
www.chiltern.co                                                                                                           logistics, secure and bonded
                                                                                                                          warehousing, chilled distribution

Cold Move                  Oswestry (2 sites)                          11,000           0                2,000            Storage, secondary distribution,
www.coldmove.net                                                                                                          blast freezing, import/export,
                                                                                                                          rework and co-packing,
                                                                                                                          order management, pallet
                                                                                                                          management

Culina Logistics/          Culina: Bristol, Coalville, Haverhill,      0                102,193          724,644          Refrigerated transport, contract
Great Bear                 Hereford, Lurgan, Market Drayton,                                                              packing, pallet pooling, stock
www.culina.co.uk           Milton Keynes, Stafford, West Thurrock.                                                        management, bonded services
                           Great Bear: Birkenhead, Birmingham,
                           Bromborough, Chadderton, Chorley,
                           Deeside, Desborough, Hoddesdon,
                           Kegworth, Kettering, Laindon,
                           Lichfield, Lutterworth, Markham Vale,
                           Melksham, Northampton, Nottingham,
                           Port Salford, Rotherham, Sheffield,
                           Skelmersdale, Stoke-on-Trent, Tattenhall,
                           Upton, Wolverhampton. IPS: Dudley,
                           Featherstone, York

Fowler Welch               Desborough, Heywood, Hilsea, Newton         0                46,452           46,452           Storage and picking, vendor
www.fowler-welch.co.uk     Abbot, Nuneaton, Paddock Wood,                                                                 managed stock, dedicated
                           Spalding, Teynham, Washington                                                                  transport

Gibbs and Ball             Dartford                                    0                1,496            14,120           Picking
www.gibbsandball.co.uk

Gist                       Barnsley, Basingstoke, Bristol,             15,700           113,000          102,000          Contract logistics, global freight
www.gistworld.com          Carlisle, Chesterfield, Coventry, Crewe,                                                       management, temperature-
                           Cumbernauld, Dublin, Enfield, Faversham,                                                       controlled distribution, food
                           Hemel Hempstead, Motherwell, Nuneaton,
                                                                                                                          service
                           Spalding, Swords (Ireland)

Grocontinental             Whitchurch                                  79,000           89,000           29,000           Blast freezing, co-packing,
www.grocontinental.co.uk                                               pallets          pallets          pallets          cheese cutting, ingredient
                                                                                                                          sorting

HSH Coldstores             Grimsby (2 sites), Redditch                 264,61           0                1,021            Stock management, blast
www.hshcoldstores.co.uk                                                frozen and                                         freezing, handball, order picking,
                                                                       chilled                                            re-packing and shrink wrap,
                                                                                                                          refrigerated transport

IBL Cold Stores            Knowsley                                    50,000           20,000           22,000           Frozen and chilled storage, blast
www.intbl.co.uk                                                                                                           freeze and tempering, transport

Kestrel                    9 Grantham (2 sites)                        1,432            360              936              Refrigerated transport, multi-
Temperature                                                                                                               temp storage
Controlled Service
www.cooldelivery.com

Langdon Group              Barnsley, Bridgwater, Dover, Liverpool,     6,000            9,000            0                Refrigerated transport,
www.nagel-group.com        Redditch                                                                                       order picking

McCulla (Ireland)          Belfast, Dublin                             16,000           10,000           6,000            Refrigerated transport, order
www.mcculla.co.uk                                                                                                         assembly, blast freezing,
                                                                                                                          tempering

/ 21
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

                                                                      Frozen           Chilled          Ambient          Other services
Company                         Location                              (cubic metres)   (cubic metres)   (cubic metres)

Moran Logistics                 Castle Donington, Leeds,              not              not              not              Refrigerated transport, picking and
www.moranlogistics.co.uk        Manchester, Oswestry                  provided         provided         provided         packing

NewCold                         Wakefield                             143,000          0                0                Automated cold warehouse,
www.newcold.com/wakefield                                             pallets                                            storage area and loading docks at
                                                                                                                         -23C, semi-automated repacking,
                                                                                                                         automated unloading docks,
                                                                                                                         refrigerated transport

NFT Distribution                Aldridge, Alfreton, Amesbury,         0                70,000           32,000           Food distribution, full load
www.nft.co.uk                   Bristol, Cardington, Crick, Cross                                                        transport, warehousing, UK food
                                Hands, Daventry, Gaerwen,                                                                imports, primary retail distribution,
                                Hilton, London, Middleton,
                                                                                                                         secondary retail distribution and
                                Newport, Penrith, St Albans
                                                                                                                         logistics

Oakland International           Corby, Redditch, St Margarets,        2,500            20,000           3,960            Food tempering, case consolidation,
www.oakland-international.com   Dublin                                                                                   contract packaging, distress load,
                                                                                                                         sample service, chilled parcel
                                                                                                                         delivery

Peter Green Chilled             Evercreech                            3,600            8,000            500              Refrigerated transport, case picking,
www.petergreenchilled.co.uk                                                                                              consolidation, blast freezing,
                                                                                                                         tempering, re-working and re-labelling

Pulleyn                         Reading                               2,000            1,500            0                Refrigerated transport, packing
www.pulleyn.co.uk                                                                      pallets
                                                                                       (chilled and
                                                                                       ambient)

Reed Boardall                   Boroughbridge                         60,000           0                0                Blast freezing, up-tempering, case
www.reedboardall.com                                                                                                     picking, repacking, pallet topping
                                                                                                                         and de-topping, temperature-
                                                                                                                         controlled distribution

Rick Bestwick                   Chesterfield, Liverpool,              65,008           17,359           13,640           Up-tempering, blast freezing,
www.rickbestwick.com            Scunthorpe, Warrington                                                                   export, temperature-controlled
                                                                                                                         distribution by DFDS

The Ice Co Storage              Glasgow, Newcastle, Preston,          244,212          30,697           3,299            Consolidation, blast freezing,
                                South Kirkby                                                                             tempering, order picking, handball
& Logistics
www.icecologistics.co.uk                                                                                                 and pallet inversion, refrigerated
                                                                                                                         transport

Thermo Logistics                Aberdeen, Glasgow, Leeds              2,200            726              1,300            Long hold storage, pick and pack
www.thermologistics.net                                               sq metres        sq metres        sq metres        orders, stock checking, chilled and
                                                                                                                         frozen food courier, special events
                                                                                                                         and sample delivery, same and next
                                                                                                                         day tri-temp specialist

Transkold                       Stanmore                              2,500            300              0                Refrigerated transport, blast
www.transkold.co.uk                                                   pallets          pallets                           freezing, tempering, cross-docking,
                                                                                                                         lorry parking

Turners (Soham)                 Bicker, Newmarket                     95,000           0                0                Refrigerated transport, product
www.turners-distribution.com                                          frozen and                                         selection, packing, dispatch
                                                                      chilled

Yearsley Logistics              Belle Eau Park, Bellshill, Bristol,   135,000          11,700           19,000           Repacking, consolidation,
www.yearsley.co.uk              Coleshill, Gillingham, Grimsby,                                                          temperature-controlled distribution,
                                Hams Hall, Heywood, Holmewood,                                                           import and export management
                                Peterborough, Seaham, Wisbech

/ 22
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Investment and Consolidation
The trend for consolidation, long a feature of third party
transport and distribution providers, is expected to
continue within the temperature-controlled logistics sector.
Companies expect ‘significant’ levels of mergers and acquisition activity in European
road freight over the next five years, according to a survey published in November
2017 by Ti, a UK-based research consultancy. It predicts that the European market
which grew by 2.4% in real terms in 2016, will continue to do so but at a real
compound rate of 3% through to 2020. This continuing market growth makes it a
good time to acquire other fleets and capitalise on increased business opportunities.

The forecasts are coming true: the latest is the takeover by US-based Lineage
Logistics in November 2018 of Yearsley Group for an undisclosed amount.
Greg Lehmkuhl, chief executive, Lineage Logistics said: “Yearsley has demonstrated
a strong commitment to developing longstanding, bespoke customer relationships
that is consistent with how we do business at Lineage.” Yearsley operates 12
coldstores and over 300 vehicles in the UK. Also included in the transaction
is Yearsley Food, a frozen food supplier to retailers, food service providers,
manufacturing and export channels. KPMG Corporate Finance team, led by Jonathan
Boyers in Manchester, acted as financial advisor and Gateley acted as legal counsel
to Yearsley Group. Boyers, head of M&A, KPMG, said:

“This is a landmark transaction for the logistics and
  frozen food sectors, both of which are currently seeing
  elevated levels of M&A activity, and is a great example
  of the continuing global interest being shown in high-
  quality British businesses from overseas investors,
  despite the uncertainties posed by Brexit.”

Lineage has grown through acquisitions and organically. Its acquisition of Yearsley
builds on the success of its first international acquisition in 2017 in which it acquired
Partner Logistics, a European automated coldstore operator.

XPO Logistics, also US based and the second-largest freight brokerage provider
globally, has also been active. In the US it has spent $3 billion for Con-way and
in Europe $3.5 billion for French trucking outfit Norbert Dentressangle in 2015.
Norbert Dentressangle was ranked at number 2 in the 2014 Cold Chain News
operator listing when Norbert had 24 temperature-controlled sites with a total
storage capacity of 28,400 pallets. Total revenue from Norbert Dentressangle's
temperature-controlled logistics business in 2014 was £389m (€535m), representing
22.7% of its total logistics revenue. XPO said in 2017 that it was setting aside as
much as $8bn for additional acquisitions.

/ 23
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

In five years, Agro Merchants Group has become the fifth-largest third-party
cold storage and logistics provider in the world, according to statistics from
the Global Cold Chain Alliance.7 Set up in 2013, Agro provides cold storage and
logistics, picking, packaging, fruit ripening, import/export, customs clearance and
freight forwarding from 61 sites in 11 countries. Its most recent UK purchase was
Grocontinental. Agro says the purchase “reinforces Agro’s position as the leading
cold storage and logistics provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland, deepens its
commodity expertise, and substantially enhances its value-added service offerings
for customers.” David Grocott and Linda Grocott, third generation owners of
Grocontinental, will continue to lead the business as joint managing directors. Agro
previously bought Poland Services Transport – Logistyka to expand its reach in
Europe. Agro's acquisition of Poland Services Transport is part of Agro’s strategy
focused on key European trading hubs. In January 2017 it opened an 18,000-pallet-
space warehouse in Rotterdam-Maasvlakte. In February it bought Frissul and
Frigomato, a cold storage operator in Portugal.

Private equity investor EmergeVest, which recently made its seventh UK logistics
acquisition in the form of CM Downton, is considering further investment in the
UK temperature-controlled sector. The Hong-Kong based company’s current UK
portfolio includes NFT Distribution, NR Evans, supply chain software company
Adjuno, Allport Cargo Services and Palletforce. The acquisitions show that
EmergeVest is building a UK network at speed, encompassing freight forwarding,
pallet, chilled and now ambient.

Heath Zarin, EmergeVest’s chief executive and managing director, told Cold Chain News:

“We believe the UK temperature-controlled sector is
attractive for further investment. We are considering
opportunities in this space, largely through our existing
investment in NFT.”
Zarin declined to comment on exactly what type of temperature-controlled
operator EmergeVest would be interested in targeting. EmergeVest is also intent
on expanding its portfolio of UK companies to include more than just logistics.
“We have completed several acquisitions in the UK logistics sector and maintain
an active pipeline of potential opportunities,” said Zarin. “In addition to logistics,
we are currently interested in business services and technology.” EmergeVest
was established in 2013 and has focused on quality investment opportunities in
targeted industry sectors. It is particularly interested in investments in the supply
chain, logistics and transport sectors, especially in the UK and China. It acquired
NFT Distribution in 2014 and then snapped up NR Evans in August 2016. At
the time of NR Evans’ acquisition Zarin said: “This acquisition will not be our last
and demonstrates EmergeVest's confidence in the UK market as an investment
proposition post Brexit."

                                                                                         7
                                                                                             www.gcca.org

/ 24
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Temperature-Controlled
Courier Services
Courier companies were generally confident about their
prospects in 2018 with many intending to grow their
customer base and add vehicles to their fleet.
However, the driver shortage continues to be a problem for some and ongoing
challenges for most courier firms include cost control and uncertainty over Brexit.
Overall though, optimism rules when it comes to acquiring new customers, with
many courier firms bullish about prospects for 2018.

Gavin Hicks, managing director of LogistHicks Couriers, said that the company was
experiencing good initial conversations with new prospective customers and was
"looking forward to further increase its customer base during 2018.”

Directors of several courier firms said that they intended to boost their fleets.
John Lee, managing director of Courier Express Refrigerated Transport, told Cold
Chain News that the company would “continue to grow our fleet of vehicles on a
national basis”.

Jeremy Thompson, managing director of Absolutely Chilled, says the company is
planning further expansion of its temperature-controlled fleet and partnerships
with other logistics companies.“ Our largest growth has been with our temperature-
controlled services, leading to our fleet of these vehicles expanding by 50% since the
beginning of 2017.”

Mark Taylor, managing director from Cool It Distribution, also has his eye on fleet
expansion. “The business is getting bigger and better year after year. We are hoping
to double the fleet size in 2018 and expand to more work outside of the M25.”

Jason Buckley, managing director of LF&E Refrigerated Transport, said that 2018
was going to be “another interesting year for LF&E” as the company plans to
double its vehicle fleet. LF&E has also recently moved premises and this is now
its headquarters for operational staff. A new Medicines and Healthcare (MHRA)
warehouse and distribution hub in Normanton, in West Yorkshire, will enable the
company to provide an ever-wider range of services, says Buckley.

Expansion is also on the mind of Kuehlspeed managing director Mark Bischler. “Our
aim is to grow our UK coverage and presence to be able to provide our customers
an even greater range of offerings for all their temperature-controlled logistics
requirements,” he says.

Mark O'Connor, managing director of Aktrion Chilled Logistics, says the company
is planning to expand its business in both its pharmaceutical and food businesses.
“Clinical trial work throughout Europe is healthy and the quality of both our
warehouse and delivery service is driving our growth.”

/ 25
Who’s who in temperature-controlled logistics

Growth seems to be coming from the chilled ready-meal and pharmaceutical
sectors. Stephen Wilson, managing director of S Wilson Refrigerated Transport, says:
“With continuous growth in the fresh prepared ready meal/food sector there has
been a further increase in business for refrigerated hauliers. Also, we are seeing an
increase in demand for deliveries in the pharmaceutical sector.”

Simon Herberts from RDS Transport says: “The acquisition of a competitor has
meant a 20% increase in turnover, opened new channels of work in different areas
of the industry, and led to our most successful year to date." Paul Gould, commercial
director at Iceotemp, says that the company expects to grow the pallet distribution
area of its operation through new business, “now that weight and volume capacities
have been greatly improved.”

Cutting costs is the aim of many companies. Kevin Smith, manager at Invicta
Couriers, says that investment in telematic temperature monitoring and driver
training has reduced administration costs, fuel costs and vehicle damage.
The company planned to become BRC (British Retail Consortium) accredited in 2018.

Brian Brennan, managing director of PDQ highlights the ongoing battle with
rates. “Rates are being challenged on a daily basis, by customers looking for
cost efficiencies.” PDQ has got round this problem by setting up its Pharmanet
operation, which is a “much more economic option for customers.” Brennan points
out that there has been a huge increase in competition from owner drivers and
small companies, especially on the food side of the business. “Eastern European
companies are our biggest competitors on the pharma side of the business”,
Brennan says.

The driver shortage is a thorny problem that won’t go
away, according to some courier firms. Managing director
of Chillway Express, Alfred Jones, says: “The biggest
challenge is that there is a national shortage of drivers
over the whole sector.”
The picture is mixed when it comes to courier firms and Brexit. Angela Cooke,
managing director of Angies Transport Services, says: “There are no real challenges
for 2018, Brexit is no problem as we work mostly for American companies.” Tony
Colato, managing director at Eskimo Express, says: “Our market is performing well
considering the current climate of uncertainty over Brexit.”

Alan White, managing director at Fresh Logistics, says: “2017 has been an exciting
year for us, we have found that the market has become extremely buoyant, with
customer partners wanting a long-term relationship to see them through the Brexit
time frame. We will try our utmost to ensure no price rises or service failures within
the UK and European market.”

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