Toy firm takes 100,000 sq ft in Warrington

Property owner Kinaxia Logistics has let a new build warehouse at Stretton Distribution Centre in Appleton to James Galt & Co for five years.

Toys distributor James Galt has signed for sole use of the 100,000 sq ft warehouse in Warrington, which sits at the wider premises of Kinaxia subsidiary Mark Thompson Transport.

The unit was completed late last year and Kinaxia said it plans to invest £500,000 in fitting out the new building with lighting, racking, handling equipment, CCTV and a warehouse management system.

Galt was founded in 1836 and was part of the Jumbodiset Group. It supplies a range of toys, games, puzzles, arts and crafts and equipment such as trampolines to UK stockists such as Amazon, Argos, Hobbycraft, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, The Entertainer and Waitrose, as well as independent toy and gift shops.

As well as its UK distribution operations, it will also use the Appleton warehouse to pack items for export outside the UK, to markets including Europe, Japan, China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Australia and the US.

“The Warrington site is a wonderful location, being just 20 minutes from our offices and within easy reach of the motorway network due to its closeness to the M6,” said John McDonnell, managing director of James Galt & Co.

“We explored numerous options when we were seeking a new warehouse and distribution centre, and this was the outstanding choice in terms of the quality of the people and the operation.”

Kinaxia, meanwhile, is headquartered in Macclesfield and operates 13 freight and logistics businesses across the UK. The group has a portfolio of 2m sq ft of warehouse facilities nationwide and offers contract packing, e-fulfilment, returns management and storage services. Its annual revenues stand at around £200m, according to the company.

Kinaxia’s sales and marketing director Vanessa Hope said: “James Galt & Co is an iconic toy business with a fantastic client base. This is an extremely exciting contract for Kinaxia, which will generate much-needed employment in the area.

“We are very pleased to be forging this link with such a well-known and respected brand and look forward to working with the team over the coming years.”