Next week's opening of the 11th Costco depot in the UK could mark the start of an accelerated programme of development for the warehouse club operator. MD Jim Murphy is confident the opening ­ in Derby ­ will soon be followed by new depots in north London and Oldham. "We are deep in the planning process but expect the results from the secretary of state very soon," he said. Costco has earmarked sites in Reading, Cardiff and Birmingham, and Murphy said there were 20 more in the pipeline. The UK's planning regime has made it difficult for Costco to expand since opening its first depot seven years ago. Murphy admitted it had taken as little as six months and as much as seven years to get the green light for new developments. But he is bullish about prospects for the warehouse club trading format in this country. "We still think there is potential for 40 to 45 locations in the UK," he said, adding that the business was enjoying strong like-for-like sales growth and had been "solidly profitable" for the past four years. To support the planned growth, Costco recently opened a distribution centre in Rugby. And Murphy said the company saw the development of a strong UK business as the springboard for European expansion. After completing a market assessment Costco believes it can do well in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and possibly Poland. Murphy hinted the long search for European partners that could help with "property, products and people" was nearly over. He would not comment on whether Costco would be working more closely with Carrefour. However, Costco recently bought out Littlewoods, one of its long term UK partners, leaving Carrefour with a 20% stake in its business in this country. - Costco is raising membership fees by £5 next month. {{NEWS }}

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