New £6m distribution hub to create 140 jobs

Initially 60 people are being recruited for at the new One World Express site at Woodgate Business Park.

The logistics and e-commerce specialist's investment is worth £6 million and in the long term involves another 80 jobs.

It has taken a 100-year lease on the new site for £3m. It has a warehouse and office space.

Headquartered in Hayes, One World Express currently has a workforce of more than 50 people and an additional warehouse in Hounslow. The new site is the first UK investment the company has made outside London.

One World Express was founded as a courier service in 1998, targeting the African market. It has since evolved into a specialist e-commerce and software provider for companies and consumers across the world.

The trend for shopping on websites such as ebay has boosted significant levels of trading with China, now the company's main market. One World Express set up an office in China in 2014 to deal with growing consumer demand, and also has a base in the US.

Managing director of One World Express, Atul Bhakta, said: "We have continually outgrown our premises since One World Express was founded in 1998 and decided in 2014 that we needed to expand outside the Southeast. Birmingham's central location and international connections – with Birmingham Airport offering direct links to our key markets – provide us with a platform for further expansion.

"Although our new site in Birmingham will become a central logistical hub for One World Express, we are also employing a large number of people in customer services."

Woodgate Business Park has undergone a refurbishment, and now includes a double mezzanine floor – almost tripling the floorspace.