Growth in online business has led to the opening of a new courier distribution centre in Milton Park.

DHL Express has invested £1.5m in the new 35,144 sq ft site which has seen 54 staff transfer from DHL depots across the country.

Chief executive Phil Couchman said: “We have seen a really big shift towards online deliveries for businesses both domestically and internationally. The biggest routes from Oxford are to the United States, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Ireland. We are also delivering more to residential addresses including people running businesses from home.

“Global export markets should be the next frontier and through this service centre we can help facilitate growth for these businesses.”

The site was officially opened by Wantage MP Ed Vaizey.

He said: “The new centre will help support international trade, whilst benefiting local jobs and the economy. This is great news for local residents and customers, as they can benefit from the service centre through means such as the drop off and collection of overseas deliveries.”