Online grocer Ocado has been forced to cancel thousands of orders after a major fire tore through its flagship robotic warehouse.
Ocado also warned of a “reduction in sales growth” after the blaze raged for more than 24 hours at the high-tech site in Andover, Hampshire.
Around 20 fire engines and 200 firefighters were called to the warehouse at 2.44am yesterday. The fire was under control this morning but was still burning.
The warehouse handles more than 4,000 orders a day and uses hundreds of robots to select groceries on giant grids.
Many customers reported deliveries were cancelled and orders could not be placed.
Ocado said operations at the site had been suspended and orders were not being sent out.
The group’s shares dropped six per cent as it said it would see a fall in sales growth until it can shift operations to other warehouses.
In a stock market update, it said: “Andover was providing approximately 10 per cent of our current capacity. As a result of this incident there will be a constraint on our ability to meet our growing customer demand and there will be a reduction in sales growth until we can increase capacity elsewhere.
“Once we have had time to assess the damage and prepare a plan to return the customer fulfilment centre to operation, we will update further as appropriate.”
The online retailer has other warehouses, including in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, which have been unaffected.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) said four of its firefighters had been treated for slight smoke inhalation as they battled to bring the blaze under control.
Part of the building’s roof had collapsed and neighbours were told to keep their windows and doors shut.
