Expo Hire operates 11 regional depots across England and Wales. Orders are routed to the depot giving the best delivery distance for your venue postcode.
Each depot serves a primary region. The routing system uses road distance from the venue postcode, not fixed territory boundaries, so venues near a regional edge route through whichever depot gives the shortest journey.
| Depot | Primary region | Key coverage areas |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | West Midlands | Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Warwickshire, Staffordshire |
| London | Greater London | North and West London, Hertfordshire, Essex |
| North West | Lancashire & Cheshire | Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Chester, Merseyside |
| White Rose | Yorkshire | Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Wakefield, Harrogate |
| East Midlands | Midlands | Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Northampton |
| Chiltern | Home Counties North | Oxford, Milton Keynes, Luton, Aylesbury, Bedford |
| Cotswold | West Midlands South | Cheltenham, Worcester, Gloucester, Hereford |
| Avon | South West | Bristol, Bath, Swindon, Taunton, Weston-super-Mare |
| Solent | South Coast | Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Salisbury |
| South Wales | Wales | Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bridgend |
| Thames Valley | Home Counties South | Reading, Guildford, Basingstoke, Slough, Windsor |
Event hire carriage is priced on road distance. The fewer miles between depot and venue, the lower the carriage cost. A single national warehouse serving the whole of England and Wales would mean long routes for most customers — a venue in Bristol served from a Midlands depot adds 80 to 100 miles each way to the route cost. A depot in the Avon region cuts that to 15 to 30 miles.
At a network level, shorter routes also mean faster reloading cycles, which supports morning and afternoon delivery window availability. An hour-and-a-half depot-to-venue run supports a morning delivery and afternoon return in a single shift. A four-hour run does not.
When you enter your venue postcode and hire dates at checkout, the system calculates the road distance from each depot and selects the one with the best route fit. You do not need to choose a branch, check a territory map, or call to confirm which depot will serve you. The carriage cost shown at checkout reflects the actual route from the assigned depot to your venue.
For most venues in England and Wales, the selected depot sits within a practical delivery distance. The carriage price shown is the price on your invoice — there are no adjustments after the order is placed.
Each depot holds its own stock, and Expo Hire guarantees every order before confirmation — no substitutions, no shortfalls. The value of the 11-depot network sits in the overlap between depots for large orders. A 400-cover event requiring chairs, tables, linen, crockery and glassware may need the primary depot to draw on a nearby branch for one or two lines at peak period. The network makes that possible without affecting the customer's delivery.
Stock checks at checkout cover availability across the network for your dates. If a line is tight at the closest depot, the availability shown may reflect stock from a second depot within the same route window. You receive one delivery, one invoice and one set of dates regardless of which depot fulfils each line.
Several Expo Hire depots are positioned close to major UK exhibition and event venues. The Birmingham depot serves the NEC and the ICC. The London depot serves ExCeL and Olympia. The North West depot covers Manchester Central and EventCity. The White Rose depot serves Harrogate Convention Centre, Sheffield Arena and the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
At these venues, route capacity fills ahead of stock during major shows. For large exhibition orders or hospitality packages at NEC, ExCeL, Manchester Central or Harrogate, early booking gives the best chance of securing both the equipment and the delivery slot you need.
Expo Hire delivers across England and Wales. The network does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland. If your venue postcode is near the English-Scottish border, the checkout postcode check will confirm whether the location falls within the delivery area before you place the order.
No. The checkout assigns the depot automatically based on road distance from your venue postcode. You do not need to select a branch, check coverage maps, or call to confirm routing.
In most cases the routing system selects the most practical option, but if you have a reason to route through a specific depot, contact the team before placing the order. The team can advise whether an alternative routing is possible for your requirement.
The system selects the depot with the shorter road distance. For venues exactly between two depots, either may be assigned. Carriage is calculated on the actual route, so the cost difference is typically small.
Yes. Carriage starts from £40 ex-VAT and increases with distance. The exact cost is shown at checkout before you confirm the order. There are no adjustments after the order is placed.
Coverage extends across England and Wales, but some very remote postcodes — parts of mid-Wales, the far South West peninsula, and some rural areas — may be outside the delivery area or carry higher carriage costs. Enter your postcode at checkout to confirm coverage before placing the order.