VB Distribution opens new Lancashire warehouse complex

VB Distribution has opened its new business park in Darwen, adding 100,000 sq ft of bonded warehousing and trade counter capacity to its national network of depots, now totalling 500,000 sq ft across the country. The site marks the latest milestone in the group's long-term expansion programme, and cements its position as the market leader ahead of the sector's biggest regulatory shift in a decade. 

The site in Hollins Grove expands the group's HMRC-approved customs bonded warehouse operation, one of the few in the sector, allowing duty-suspended storage at a scale others cannot match. With the Vaping Products Duty taking effect on 1 October 2026, bonded 
capacity shapes who can hold stock, manage duty cash flow and keep retailers supplied without price shocks. 

Natalia Gosciniak, chief executive, said: "Most of the market is still working out how to survive October. We've built for it. This site means retailers who move their supply to us get continuity, compliant stock, and credit terms, while distributors without bonded infrastructure are forced to pass duty costs straight through. We expect a significant share of the market to consolidate around the businesses that prepared, and we intend to lead it." 

VB Distribution supplies more than 50,000 retail shelf placements across the UK, with group turnover of £500 million. The site is now fully operational and aims to create up to 1,000 jobs, the first of several planned investments as VB Distribution sets the pace for the sector.