Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
Ocado
The Hatfield, England company founded in 2000 by three former Goldman Sachs bankers — Tim Steiner, Jason Gissing and Jonathan Faiman — as an online grocer with no stores, which built its own automated warehouses ("customer fulfilment centres", CFCs) in which swarms of robots run on a grid above stacked crates, then turned that warehouse into a product: the Ocado Smart Platform (2015), licensed to grocers around the world. Its biggest bet was the United States. On 17 May 2018 Kroger (2018 move) agreed to buy new Ocado shares worth ~£183m (~5%) and to identify up to 20 CFC sites in its first three years of an exclusive US partnership (reported). Seven years later the US is where the model was tested hardest: on 18 Nov 2025 Kroger said it would close three Ocado-equipped CFCs (Wisconsin, Maryland, Florida) in January 2026 and take a ~$2.6bn impairment; Ocado's compensation rose from ">$250m" to ~$350m, covering the closures and a cancelled Charlotte, North Carolina site; the partnership continues in Ohio, Texas, Colorado, Michigan and Georgia (blueprint Shared facts). Ocado's other defining episodes are a Feb 2019 fire that destroyed its Andover CFC, a 2019 joint venture that sold half its UK retail business to Marks & Spencer, and a 2020–23 patent war with AutoStore that ended with AutoStore paying Ocado £200m in 24 monthly instalments from Jul 2023. In fiscal 2025 (year to 30 Nov 2025) Technology Solutions EBITDA reached ~£140m, but the group still burned ~£230m of underlying cash; management targets cash-flow-positive operation in the second half of fiscal 2026 and for fiscal 2027 (reported).
At a glance
- Founded
- 2000, by Tim Steiner, Jason Gissing and Jonathan Faiman; first deliveries Jan 2002 from Hatfield (reported); initially supplied by and part-owned by Waitrose (John Lewis Partnership)
- Headquarters
- Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England; US operations serve Kroger; engineering centres in the UK and elsewhere (verify current list)
- Ownership / structure
- Public, London Stock Exchange (OCDO) since 21 Jul 2010; Kroger held ~6% after its 2018 subscription (reported; current holding verify); Ocado Retail is a 50:50 joint venture with Marks & Spencer since 2019
- Leadership (2026)
- Tim Steiner (co-founder, CEO since founding); chairman verify
- Segments / lines
- Technology Solutions (Ocado Smart Platform and related licences to grocers outside the UK, plus Ocado Intelligent Automation for non-grocery warehouses); Logistics (UK CFC and delivery services, chiefly for Ocado Retail); share of Ocado Retail (the UK online grocer, JV with M&S)
- Scale
- Technology Solutions revenue ~£444m (FY2025, +~7%, reported); FY2026 guide ~£500m (reported); H1 FY2026 (26 weeks to 31 May 2026) reported revenue £1,037m (+54%), inflated by non-recurring closure fees from Kroger and Sobeys, underlying ~£684m (+1%) (reported)
- Financials
- FY2025: adjusted EBITDA ~£178m (reported); Technology Solutions EBITDA ~£140m (+~73%); underlying cash outflow ~£230m; ~£150m of technology and support cost cuts and ~1,000 job cuts announced. H1 FY2026: adjusted EBITDA ~£81m (−11%), underlying cash outflow before closure items £147m (vs £108m) (secondary sources; verify against the RNS)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding with Waitrose (2000); London IPO (2010); Morrisons deal and the platform pivot (2013–15); Kroger partnership (2018); Andover CFC fire (2019, failure); M&S joint venture (2019); AutoStore patent war and settlement (2020–23); cost cuts and the cash-flow target (2025–26); Kroger CFC closures and compensation (2025, failure)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2000
Founding and the Waitrose Partnership
Founding / network build (first central fulfilment centre) with a sourcing partnership
2010
London IPO
IPO
2013
Morrisons Deal and the Platform Pivot
Customer contract (25-year services agreement) and strategy pivot to technology licensing (Ocado Smart Platform, 2015)
2018
Kroger Partnership
Customer contract (exclusive US technology partnership) with an equity subscription
2019
Andover CFC Fire
Safety incident and response (failure)
2019
Marks and Spencer Joint Venture
Divestment (50% of Ocado Retail) / joint venture with a sourcing switch
2020
AutoStore Patent War and 2023 Settlement
Regulatory or legal action (defence and counter-offensive in a multi-country patent dispute), ending in a settlement and cross-licence
2025
Cost Cuts and the Cash Flow Positive Target
Restructuring (cost cuts, job cuts) and a financial target (positive cash flow)
2025
Kroger CFC Closures and Compensation
Restructuring of a customer contract (partner site closures with compensation) — failure