About

About Great Bear

Great Bear is a leading UK ambient 3PL business providing nationwide contract logistics and supply chain management services to a range of companies across a variety of sectors.

Expert logisticians and passionate problem solvers.

Since we opened our first warehouse doors back in 1994, Great Bear now manages over 7 million sq. ft. of ambient warehousing through a mix of dedicated and shared-user platforms, strategically located close to major road and rail links as well as UK ports.

While the primary focus of the business began with warehousing, within the first two years the owners branched out – investing in their first fleet of 10 tractor units and 20 trailers; a transport operation which is now in excess of 400 modern commercial vehicles of varying specifications to match customer demand.

Our scale and capability allow us to deliver valuable solutions to our customers meeting their requirements and in turn, those of their customers. With the opportunity to include bespoke added-value services, Great Bear really is a comprehensive one-stop-shop to help transform your supply chain.

You can rely on Great Bear to deliver Great Service – day in, day out.

Great Bear has built a strong reputation within the industry by fostering long-term relationships based on the core principal of customer service excellence. We collaborate with our clients, working closely to develop a deep understanding of their requirements, operationally and strategically. This, coupled with our passion for development & innovation, ensures both Great Bear and our customers remain at the forefront.

With Great Bear you can rest assured that your products are safe in our hands.

Great Bear has demonstrable start-up and change management expertise, having managed large scale warehouse design & amp; build and network change projects for our customers. We have proven time and again that in choosing Great Bear our customers get the capabilities and sophistication of a big operator with the focus and attention of a smaller, more boutique service provider.

That’s why Great Businesses, with Great Brands, choose Great Bear.

Great Bear founders David Williams and Colin McDavid built the business from the ground up by encouraging a family approach to delivering quality service at scale. These strong foundations remain today in its role as the flagship ambient service provider as part of Culina Group which provides market leading logistics solutions in the ambient, chilled, bakery and fresh produce sectors as well as offering contract packing, manufacturing and resourcing solutions through its member organisations.

At the same time as the creation of Great Bear, in 1994 Culina Group entered the food and drink logistics arena as a modest, single-site operation with a year one turnover of £7m. A responsible strategy for growth has seen the Company develop an enviable network spanning the UK and Ireland, presenting an impressive annual turnover in excess of £2.2bn.

Our Team

Our business has been built around our people and our values. The development of Great Bear has been supported entirely by the quality of our people, the leadership they demonstrate and the values they hold. Growth has enabled us to fast-track talent within our business and attract
high-calibre staff to add different skills and strengths to support our development.

Alastair Isbister
Alastair Isbister
CEO
Chris Price
Chris Price
CFO
Carl Johnson
Carl Johnson
Finance Director (Controlling)
Nikki Christophorou
Nikki Christophorou
Finance Director (Operations)
Justin Steadman
Justin Steadman
Operations Director
Richard Parkins
Richard Parkins
Business Development Director
Liesl Ward
Liesl Ward
Operations Director
David McDonald
David McDonald
Operations Director
Dan O’Hare
Dan O’Hare
Operations Director
Darrell Rushforth
Darrell Rushforth
Regional Operations Director
Steve Murphy
Steve Murphy
Regional Operations Director
James Martin
James Martin
Regional Operations Director

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Nationwide Network

Great Bear operates in over 7 million sq.ft. of warehousing space across 30+ locations in the UK. Our distribution network spans all corners of the country, with over 400 vehicles within our fleet and access to a larger network through our sister companies, we offer our customers greater flexibility when they need it.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

As a company, we are committed to doing the right thing, the right way, and to ensuring that the highest standards are maintained across our business in areas such as health & safety, sustainability and social responsibility. We va…

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Our Culture

At Great Bear we are committed to future-proofing our great business through a sustainable strategy for growth and investment, not only in our sites, systems and network, but importantly – Our Great People.

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Accreditations

Ensuring our services and facilities are of the highest standard is vital to Great Bear and our customers. Being members of respected industry associations and trade organisations can help us audit what we do so we can deliver to the highest expectations.

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Interested in our
Services?

Whether you’re interested in finding out more about the services we offer, the work we do or your next career move, we would love to hear from you!

Contact us