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Online retailer to invest up to £5m in automated warehouse

Published: August 7, 2026 at 10:59 am

Author: Chris Maguire

Power Tool World, one of the UK’s leading online retailers of professional tools, is to invest up to £5m in a new 36,000 sq ft automated warehouse facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The move will more than double the company’s footprint as it scales up operations following double-digit year-on-year growth.

The company currently operates across two sites totalling 30,000 sq ft. The addition of a third facility will more than double its fulfilment capabilities.

The rapid growth follows a strategic turnaround led by managing director Liam Rafferty, who joined the business just over a year ago.

Under Rafferty’s leadership, Power Tool World has restructured key operations across e-commerce, procurement, IT and data analysis.

The changes have helped increase revenue from £40m to a forecast £58m this year.

Established in 1997, the business now employs 50 people and processes between 800 and 1,500 orders a day across its two existing Newton Aycliffe sites.

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