Tesco Donabate Distribution Centre is a national retail distribution centre located in Donabate, Fingal, Ireland.[1][2] Built for and used by Tesco Ireland for distribution of a wide range of goods, as of 2022 it is the 12th-largest building by volume in the world,[3][4][5] with a volume of 1550000 m3; for comparison, this is 42% of the volume of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building.[6][7]
The distribution centre was developed by Tesco in 2007 at a cost of €60 million and immediately sold for €120 million in a sale and leaseback deal to a consortium assembled by KPMG. It is located in the local government area of Fingal, in the traditional County Dublin, near the M1 motorway.[10][11] In 2014 it was sold to a South African property fund for €129 million.[12] In 2019 it was sold to South Korean firm KTB Investments & Securities and KTB Asset Management for €160m.[13]
The area of land on which the building was constructed previously formed part of Newbridge Demesne.[14][15]
The facility employs over 600 people, and handles up to 1.5 million cases per week. It manages and distributes all ambient grocery (packaged and processed) and some non-food products for Tesco Ireland's network of 149 stores.[16][17] It is laid out in 87 aisles of 31 bays, each 12.3 m tall, with a storage capacity of 76,000 pallets.[17]
Staff wear arm-mounted terminals (AMTs) to monitor productivity, which attracted media criticism in 2013.[18]
