A NEW 'dark store' has opened in Greenford, helping Waitrose step up the rate of its online deliveries.

The supermarket chain has teamed up with transport and logistics company, Wincanton, to set up a new Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) – otherwise known as a 'dark store'.

This new partnership is in response to the growing demand for online shopping slots, particularly from the elderly, disabled and vulnerable.

The 'dark store' will create some 800 new jobs, with staff picking and packing some 1.25 million products a week for delivery in 150 new vans.

James Wroath, CEO at Wincanton, said: "We look forward to providing Waitrose.com customers in London with the highest levels of service.

"'Dark stores' will play a huge role in helping supply chains adapt to meet a new set of expectations as more retail purchases are made online and they will better enable businesses to serve customers, at scale."

Laura Burbedge, Waitrose.com Director, said: "Waitrose.com now accounts for a fifth of our total business, compared to 6% a year ago.

"But despite this huge growth we know there are still more people who would like to shop online with us - so this new centre is a significant step in our future plans."