Gist

A Basingstoke-based UK logistics company, now part of Marks & Spencer, that runs temperature-controlled warehouses and lorries delivering chilled, frozen and ambient food to major supermarkets.

About Gist

Gist is a UK supply chain company, based at Chineham Business Park in Basingstoke, Hampshire, that specialises in temperature-controlled distribution. Every day it moves chilled, frozen and ambient products from food manufacturers to large supermarkets. A Grocer directory entry lists its services as temperature-controlled logistics, global freight management, food service logistics, contract logistics and a child road safety programme. It was set up in 1969, and TARGETjobs says it introduced the UK's first centralised chilled distribution network about 50 years ago. It describes itself as 'at the heart of logistics' and as an M&S company.

On mission and values, TARGETjobs says Gist puts people and safety first, expects employees to take personal responsibility for their performance and to push for improvement, and promotes career development. We did not find a separate formal mission statement, and the lists of core values on that page did not load. The company also says it switched to 100 per cent renewable electricity in 2021, which it estimates cuts emissions by over 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. These are the company's own statements.

Gist describes large temperature-controlled warehouses and distribution centres across the UK. The only address listed in the directory is the Basingstoke head office. A trade report from 2019 said every site in its temperature-controlled network had been awarded the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, naming a site at EuroCentral in Motherwell, Scotland, and quoting Scott Paton, head of its Scotland sites. A 2010 report said Gist bought a Scotland-based distribution firm with operations in the UK, Holland and Spain. These sources are dated, so they are better as examples than as a current site list.

In terms of people, TARGETjobs says Gist employs over 5,000 people and runs more than 1,400 tractor units, 240 refrigerated rigid lorries and 1,200 refrigerated trailers. Martin Gwynn was chief executive in 2010; the directory entry names Michael Chambers as chief executive, but we have not confirmed this is current. The company says it employs people from many nations and backgrounds and is committed to gender equality, and it won or was shortlisted for several industry and sustainability awards in 2022, including a Silver EcoVadis rating. These are the company's own claims.

The roles are broad: HGV drivers, warehouse teams and shift managers, transport planners, fleet engineers, customer account and commercial teams, food safety and quality specialists, finance, HR and IT. Food logistics suits people who like practical, fast-paced work with a clear purpose, because the food in shops depends on the lorries and cold stores being exactly on time and at exactly the right temperature. If you like the idea of knowing how a supermarket shelf gets filled, it is a fine sector to look into.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Chilled, frozen and ambient food moved between manufacturers and retailers.', 'title': 'Temperature-controlled logistics'}
• {'desc': 'Warehousing and distribution run for customers and food service businesses.', 'title': 'Contract and food service logistics'}
• {'desc': 'Managing freight moves beyond the UK for customers.', 'title': 'Global freight management'}

Key facts

• Established in 1969; Chineham, Basingstoke head office (directory entry)
• Over 5,000 employees, 1,400 tractor units and 1,200 refrigerated trailers (TARGETjobs, dated)
• Every site in the temperature-controlled network awarded BRC Global Standard for Food Safety (announced 5 December 2019)
• ACQUIRED: now an M&S company, as the company describes itself

Website: www.gist-ltd.com