The Reed Boardall Group
The Reed Boardall Group is a UK-based, family-owned temperature-controlled food storage and distribution operator, running the country's largest single-site frozen food consolidator (168,000 pallet capacity, ~200-vehicle fleet) from a 55-acre Boroughbridge facility, serving major UK supermarkets and food manufacturers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersYork, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Reed Boardall Group does
The Reed Boardall Group is a family-owned, UK-based temperature-controlled food storage and distribution business founded in 1992 and headquartered at a single 55-acre site in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. The company operates seven high-tech cold store chambers with 168,000 pallet capacity and a fleet of approximately 200 modern temperature-controlled vehicles, delivering an average of 12,000 pallets of frozen food daily to UK supermarkets, food manufacturers, and food service providers. Core services are integrated cold storage, temperature-controlled distribution, and ancillary offerings including blast freezing, picking and packing, all delivered under an 'order today, deliver tomorrow' service commitment.
Revenue is generated primarily through B2B enterprise contracts with major UK grocery retailers and frozen food manufacturers, with pricing based on storage utilisation, pallet throughput, and volume. The go-to-market model is sales-led and reputation-driven, leveraging 30+ years of relationships with leading food brands including Dr. Oetker, Whitby Seafoods, and Young's Seafood. The company serves as the UK's largest single-site frozen food consolidator, combining products from multiple suppliers for cost-effective next-day distribution. Ancillary revenue streams include the in-house Driver Academy (qualified 80+ HGV drivers), on-site MOT testing facility, and a customer portal.
Underlying infrastructure includes purpose-built cold storage chambers, a 30-year plant refrigeration partnership with EJM Engineered Systems, an in-house Authorised Testing Facility for fleet compliance, and a Driver Academy addressing the national HGV driver shortage. The company employs approximately 800 staff at the single Boroughbridge site, with 200 employees having 10+ years of tenure. BRCGS AA+ certification signals top-tier product safety compliance. Leadership transitioned in 2024 with Marcus Boardall assuming the Chief Executive role, continuing family ownership.
The Reed Boardall Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Reed Boardall Group
- Legal name
- The Reed Boardall Group Limited
- Website
- https://reedboardall.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- The Reed Boardall Group is a UK-based, family-owned temperature-controlled food storage and distribution operator, running the country's largest single-site frozen food consolidator (168,000 pallet capacity, ~200-vehicle fleet) from a 55-acre Boroughbridge facility, serving major UK supermarkets and food manufacturers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Reed Boardall Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cold Chain Logistics
- NAICS
- Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (49312), Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (493120), Warehousing and Storage (4931)
- SIC
- Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Frozen Food Cold Storage (TLALABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Frozen Food Warehousing & Blast Freezing (AFAOAFAC), Value-Added Cold Storage Services (Pick/Pack, Kitting, Repacking, Labeling) (AFAOAFAL), Temperature-Controlled Cross-Docking & Transload (Cold Chain) (TLALABAJ)
Keywords
Where The Reed Boardall Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- York
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Reed Boardall Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Cold Storage Services: Temperature-controlled storage for frozen food manufacturers and retailers with 168,000 pallet capacity. Revenue derived from storage capacity utilization with volume-dependent pricing.
- Temperature-Controlled Distribution: Transportation of frozen food products across the UK using modern fleet of ~200 vehicles. Moving average of 12,000 pallets daily for customers.
- Ancillary Services: Complementary services including blast freezing, picking and packing services for food products
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
The Reed Boardall Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Reed Boardall Group provides temperature-controlled storage and distribution of chilled and frozen packed food from its 55-acre single-site operation in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. The company operates seven high-tech cold store chambers with 168,000 pallet capacity and a fleet of approximately 200 modern refrigerated vehicles that deliver an average of 12,000 pallets of frozen food daily across the UK. Complementary services include blast freezing, picking and packing, and an on-site MOT testing facility for its fleet.
Product overview
Reed Boardall is a temperature-controlled food storage and distribution business providing integrated cold storage and transport services. The core offerings consist of Cold Storage facilities (seven high-tech chambers with 168,000 pallet capacity) and Temperature Controlled Distribution (fleet of approximately 200 vehicles delivering 12,000 pallets daily). Ancillary services include blast freezing, picking and packing. The company also operates a Driver Academy for HGV training and provides a Customer Portal for client access. All operations are consolidated at a single 55-acre site in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, enabling the company to offer next-day delivery services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Profits before taxation increased to £2.51m (1.9% of revenue) for year ending March 2024
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Reed Boardall Group
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Reed Boardall Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
The Reed Boardall Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- EJM Engineered Systemscore30-year relationship with plant refrigeration specialist for maintenance and support of refrigeration systems at Boroughbridge facility.
- Yorkshire Air AmbulanceminorThree-year partnership agreement beginning autumn 2020. Reed Boardall displays Yorkshire Air Ambulance visuals on its fleet of refrigerated semi-trailers, helping spread awareness across Yorkshire and beyond. YAA features Reed Board's logo on both aircraft.
- DeliciouslyorkshireminorSupporting the Deliciouslyorkshire organization as a logistics provider to the food sector.
- Whitby SeafoodscoreLong-running logistics contract renewed for collection, storage and delivery of Whitby Seafoods products.
- Dr. OetkercoreReed Boardall retained as logistics partner for Dr. Oetker's frozen food distribution operations in the UK.
- Boroughbridge AFCminorContinued partnership with local football club as part of community engagement and local sponsorship.
- Young's Seafood LimitedcorePartnership for collection, storage and delivery of foodservice business. Also provided services to Pinneys of Scotland site during summer requirement.
- Crossroads Truck and Bus Ltd (Volvo)corePartnership to create on-site Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) for MOT testing of Reed Boardall fleet. Volvo vehicle supplier providing latest safety technology vehicles.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights3 records
The Reed Boardall Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Culina Group: Culina is one of the largest UK temperature-controlled logistics providers, operating a multi-site network of cold stores and a significant refrigerated fleet serving supermarkets, manufacturers and foodservice — the closest direct UK competitor to Reed Boardall's frozen consolidation model.
- Gist Limited: Gist is the temperature-controlled supply chain partner for Tesco and other UK grocery customers, operating extensive cold storage and refrigerated distribution; a major UK frozen/direct competitor to Reed Boardall for supermarket contracts.
- Wincanton plc: Wincanton is a UK contract logistics specialist that operates significant cold chain capacity alongside general logistics, serving major grocers and food manufacturers; it competes directly with Reed Boardall for both storage and distribution tenders.
- Magnavale Ltd: Magnavale is a UK-focused temperature-controlled storage and distribution specialist with multiple sites, providing frozen and chilled storage, blast freezing, pick-and-pack and value-added services to food manufacturers and retailers — closely comparable in service mix to Reed Boardall.
- Great Bear Distribution (Culina Group): Great Bear is Culina Group's dedicated ambient and temperature-controlled distribution division operating a large UK refrigerated fleet; a direct peer competing for the same retailer and manufacturer frozen distribution volumes as Reed Boardall.
Broad incumbents
- Maersk Cold Chain Logistics: Maersk offers integrated cold chain warehousing and refrigerated container logistics globally; competes with Reed Boardall for end-to-end temperature-controlled flows but at much larger scale across geographies.
- AGRO Merchants Group: AGRO is a major global cold chain warehousing and distribution platform with UK operations; a broad incumbent providing comparable temperature-controlled services at greater geographic scale than Reed Boardall.
- Lineage Logistics: Lineage is the world's largest temperature-controlled warehousing operator with a growing UK footprint; not a single-site consolidator but a broader incumbent competing for the same supermarket and manufacturer cold storage volumes.
- DHL Cold Chain / DHL Supply Chain: DHL operates global temperature-controlled warehousing, transport and customs handling for food and pharma customers; a broad incumbent that competes for UK frozen logistics contracts but as part of a much wider logistics portfolio.
- XPO Logistics (Cold Chain): XPO is a broad global logistics provider with temperature-controlled freight and warehousing capabilities; competes with Reed Boardall at the wholesale/retail cold chain level as a broader incumbent rather than a focused single-site operator.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Reed Boardall Group social profiles
Digital presenceThe Reed Boardall Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
The Reed Boardall Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Reed Boardall Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
The Reed Boardall Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
The Reed Boardall Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Reed Boardall Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Reed Boardall Group
What does The Reed Boardall Group do?
The Reed Boardall Group provides temperature-controlled storage and distribution of chilled and frozen packed food from its 55-acre single-site operation in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. The company operates seven high-tech cold store chambers with 168,000 pallet capacity and a fleet of approximately 200 modern refrigerated vehicles that deliver an average of 12,000 pallets of frozen food daily across the UK. Complementary services include blast freezing, picking and packing, and an on-site MOT testing facility for its fleet.
Is The Reed Boardall Group a public or private company?
The Reed Boardall Group is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was The Reed Boardall Group founded?
The Reed Boardall Group was founded in 1992. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is The Reed Boardall Group based?
The Reed Boardall Group is headquartered in York, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Reed Boardall Group make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Cold Storage Services are the primary driver. The others are temperature-Controlled Distribution and ancillary Services.
Who are The Reed Boardall Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Culina Group, Gist Limited, Wincanton plc, Magnavale Ltd and Great Bear Distribution (Culina Group). Broad incumbents are Maersk Cold Chain Logistics, AGRO Merchants Group, Lineage Logistics, DHL Cold Chain / DHL Supply Chain and XPO Logistics (Cold Chain).
Does The Reed Boardall Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Reed Boardall Group.
What industry is The Reed Boardall Group in?
The Reed Boardall Group's product category is Cold Chain Logistics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLALABAB, Frozen Food Cold Storage, with a secondary code of AFAOAFAC, Frozen Food Warehousing & Blast Freezing. Its NAICS code is 49312 and its SIC code is 4220.