Middlegate Europe’s Hull warehouse has been re-certified under the BRCGS Storage & Distribution standard with an AA+ grade. It is the highest rating the scheme awards, and it was achieved in an unannounced audit.

An audit nobody saw coming

The BRCGS auditor arrived on the very first day of the audit window. The previous visit had taken place in October, so the team had assumed the same timing this year. No notice, no preparation time, no chance to tidy anything up. The team at Marfleet Environmental Technology Park was assessed exactly as it operates on any normal working day.

That is what the “+” in AA+ means. BRCGS only awards it when a site achieves the top AA grade under unannounced conditions. It is the clearest evidence a warehouse can offer that its food safety controls are standard practice, not something switched on for inspection week.

What BRCGS AA+ covers

BRCGS Storage & Distribution is the benchmark food retailers and manufacturers use to approve their logistics partners. The audit looks at hazard and risk analysis, traceability, temperature and pest control, hygiene, staff training, product security and how the site handles non-conformances. An AA grade means the auditor found minimal minor issues and no major ones.

For customers, the practical result is simple. Goods stored at Middlegate Hull meet the same standard your own food-grade facility is held to. Retailer audits go faster, supplier approval questionnaires are shorter, and there is one less risk to manage in the supply chain.

Consistency across the group

Hull is one of three Middlegate Europe sites, alongside the Zeebrugge headquarters and Liège in Belgium. Together they run more than 42,000 sqm of bonded and free-circulation warehousing, backed by a fleet of 120+ tractors and 220+ trailers and an in-house customs team.

James Bowling, Warehouse Manager at Middlegate Europe Ltd in Hull, put it plainly: “The AA+ result reaffirms where Middlegate stands on food safety and good practice across all our warehouse operations. We will keep investing in BRCGS so we can offer customers the added services that come with it.”

Why it matters for UK and EU food flows

Since Brexit, food and drink moving between the UK and the EU carries more paperwork, more checks and more places for a shipment to stall. Middlegate handles the full flow in-house: Hull for UK storage and distribution, Zeebrugge for the EU side, its own trailers across the North Sea and its own customs declarants at both ends.

A BRCGS-certified site on each side of the water means certified food storage without splitting the job between multiple providers. One partner, one stock truth, one set of controls. For importers, exporters and brands building UK or EU distribution, that removes a layer of cost and risk.

Certified storage in Hull

Middlegate Hull offers ambient, food-grade storage with pallet-in/out handling, pick-and-pack, UK-wide distribution through the UPN pallet network and customs clearance for EU and rest-of-world traffic. The site is ISO 9001 certified alongside BRCGS AA+.

Middlegate Europe has been family-owned and asset-based since 1989. The AA+ result in Hull is the latest proof that the operation runs to the standard it promises, whether or not anyone is watching.