West e-comm firm launches Spanish base
FAST-GROWING Bristol e-commerce company Huboo has continued its European expansion with the launch of its second warehouse on the continent in Spain.
Huboo has announced that it is set to open a 4,200 sq mt logistics centre in Madrid in October, following the opening in June of its first site outside the UK in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
The business, whose technology enables online retailers to quickly access and complete end-to-end fulfilment operations, launched in 2017 with two secure storage rooms at a Safestore in Bath.
Since then, the company has grown from two employees, 60 customers and £20,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) to more than 250 employees, more than 1,000 customers and £1.2 million MRR in just four years.
The firm has opened four sites in and around Bristol, including in South West logistics hub Avonmouth, where the company recently said it was creating 130 new jobs, and more than 300 when fully operational.
Huboo’s new base in the Vicálvaro district of the Spanish capital is also set to boost the economy there with the creation of more than 100 jobs within the next year.
Martin Bysh, co-founder and chief executive of Huboo, said: “Spain is one of the most important economies in the European Union, but the e-commerce market is still in its early stages and has great potential for growth.
“The quality of the infrastructure and the incredible growth experienced by the e-commerce market over the past year, with online retail sales increasing by 20% in 2020, consolidated our decision to establish ourselves in Spain to offer our fulfilment services.” José Luis Moreno, director general of economy of the Madrid City Council, added: “The establishment of this British company, a benchmark in technological advances applied to distribution, is another step in the consolidation of the city’s logistics hub. In addition to generating employment in Vicálvaro, the arrival of companies like Huboo represents a valuable contribution to the entire metropolitan economy.”
Mr Bysh said Huboo, which also plans to expand its operations into the US, had seen a rise in demand for its fulfilment services abroad since changing international trading laws as a result of Brexit.