Moving Matters
Colin Wynn
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A podcast for the UK Moving industry where your host, Colin Wynn, interviews company owners, branch managers and even suppliers in this wonderful, friendly, family orientated industry.
We delve into the past, the present and the future with each of our guests.
Available episodes
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Sep 28, 2023
Episode 75: Moving Matters with Robert Cooper of Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage
In this episode Robert Cooper, General Manager of Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage discusses how he got involved within the industry 8 years ago after a phone call from his childhood best friend Neil (Purdie) who was looking for someone to take over his role, someone he could not only trust but someone who knew the family and the dedication they put into the business – there was no mention of knowing the moving industry!
Prior to joining Purdie Worldwide Robert worked for a Government Agency, HMRC, where he spent 11 years, starting in the call centre before working his way up to Operations Manager in charge of 500 people.
To recap from Neil’s episode (https://www.movingmatterspodcast.co.uk/47), Purdie Worldwide provide domestic, commercial, and overseas moving, containerised storage (in approximately 1,500 containers) and self-storage. And to compliment the moving side there is also Purdie Property Maintenance.
Robert faces challenges every day, but his biggest personal challenge was the attitude of people towards him at the very start, where he was just seen as Neil’s friend. Another challenge has been family life and adapting to the non 9-5 working hours often found within the industry.
Robert wouldn’t change a thing from his 8 years of being within the industry, because he has learned something every day, no matter how big or small, and continues to do so.
Robert has a few highpoints of being within the industry, being tasked with the relocation of a school after only being in the industry for 3 years, being involved in the Giraffe About Town (https://www.purdieworldwide.co.uk/2022/07/13/giraffe-about-town-logistics1/) & Oor Wullies (https://www.purdieworldwide.co.uk/2019/09/24/moving-oor-wullie/) projects, being the current Chairman of the Scottish Area of the BAR, and representing the Scottish Area on the BAR’s National Council.
The one thing Robert would like to change within the industry is to have it viewed as a trade, and joking aside Robert would like the customer to haggle with the solicitors rather than the movers!
The advice Robert would give himself just starting out within the industry again is don’t be scared to try something, and to apologise when the need arises.
In the next 5 years Robert see’s himself exactly where he is today, however, he would like to become a director of the company, hold the Operator’s Licence, and allow Archie (Neil’s father) to retire. Industry wise, Robert doesn’t think anything specific will change in the next 5 years but does see the guys working shorter days as removals will be prolonged. Robert is interested in electric vehicles and the role they could potentially play within the industry, but sees this as 10-15 years down the road.
Outside of the industry Robert enjoys walking with his miniature schnauzer, music, festivals, and very recently took part in the 26.2 mile Mighty Hike (https://www.purdieworldwide.co.uk/2023/09/11/our-mighty-hike-2023/) with 4 others from Purdie Worldwide, where they raised £2,330 for Macmillan Cancer Support (a tremendous achievement by all involved).
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, two in fact, one regarding a small move and the other regarding the recent BAR Conference in Brighton.
Enjoy!
Links to Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage:
* Website (https://www.purdieworldwide.co.uk/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PurdieWorldwideLtd)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/PurdieWorldwide)
* Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/purdieworldwide/)
* Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/purdie-worldwide) Special Guest: Robert Cooper.
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Sep 14, 2023
Episode 74: Moving Matters with David Cran of MintBox Removals
In this episode David Cran, Managing Director of MintBox Removals discusses how he got involved within the industry only 5 years ago, but the seed of being a remover was potentially sowed much earlier on in life.
David’s life as a remover didn’t start according to plan, a night out on the town ended early after an accident with a taxi, which resulted in David being hospitalised and on crutches for several weeks!
MintBox Removals is based in Edinburgh and provides predominantly domestic removals, packing and storage services (mostly via third party storage companies), running 3 x Luton Vans and 1 x HGV (recently purchased from Richard Webster at Tonks - Listen to Richard's episode here (https://www.movingmatterspodcast.co.uk/21)).
David’s challenges have been, his personal accident at the start of his removal life, Covid and the stamp duty holiday, and growing the business.
The one thing David would change from his relatively short time in the moving industry is to have spent a couple of years gaining experience while working for a large Edinburgh based mover.
David’s highpoints of being within the industry are, moving several Aberdeen FC footballers, being involved with the Ireland RFU during the Six Nations, being the ‘kitman’s assistant’ as David puts it, and purchasing the HGV.
David wouldn’t change a great deal overall within the industry but would like to see the conveyancing system making use of Proptech (property technology).
The advice David would give himself just starting out within the industry again, apart from look right and left when crossing the road, would be connecting, and communicating with other movers earlier, and to enjoy the process.
In the next 5 years David would like to go down the route of palletised storage, an industrial warehouse to operate from and an additional HGV. Industry wise, David see’s more use of the demountable body system, ran by several companies currently.
Outside of the industry David enjoys family time with his two children, and gardening, in which David has developed a passion for lawn care!
And as always we end Moving Matters with four, yes four funny moving stories, an April Fool’s prank, a famous Irish Comedian, an attic incident, and the CEO of Hibernian FC.
Enjoy!
Links to MintBox Removals:
* Website (https://www.mintboxremovals.co.uk/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mintboxremovals)
* Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mintboxremovals/)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/mintboxremovals)
Special Guest: David Cran.
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Aug 10, 2023
Episode 73: Moving Matters with Matt Faizey of M&G Movers & Storers
In this episode a very fired up Matt Faizey, Managing Director of M&G Movers & Storers, continues what started as a pre-recording discussion on the so called 3.5 tonne brigade, where Matt makes his views on the subject very clear indeed.
Matt began in the industry delivering mahogany and new furniture on Saturday mornings from the tender age of 14 (circa 1993), for his father’s sideline, although Matt’s target in life was to become a barrister or journalist.
M&G Movers & Storers are based in the Midlands and turnover between £1-1.3m a year, £400k of that being from storage and the rest from domestic moving. M&G Movers & Storers USP is that they do not subcontract any work whatsoever, interact with other firms, or bring in any outsiders, and no employee is on less than a full 40-hour week annual basis.
Matt was previously heavily involved within the industry, but has been rather quiet in recent years, and explains why.
Matt has had several challenges, many of which were personal, and family rated, but still concerned the business, and is very lucky to have the support of his extremely suffering other half Donna.
Jokingly the one thing Matt would change from his moving past is to have never done it in the first place, however, if he hadn’t had then he probably wouldn’t had met Donna, his now wife. On a more serious note, Matt would have liked to have got a better education of the industry sooner.
Matt’s highpoint of being within the industry is his wife staying with him! Again, on a more serious note it’s the privilege that he has had to experience all ends of the industry, and also watching people develop skills in an industry that most people regard as unskilled and uneducated, and become a professional removalist. Another highlight is the money!
The one thing Matt would like to change within the industry is to bring the entire industry together and have one collective voice, which can then be used to be heard, in which Matt makes a strong case for, and for those within the industry to get educated and learn the system in which you operate within.
The advice Matt would give himself just starting out within the industry again is, apart from keeping his mouth shut, to understand the gravity of what you are getting into.
In the next 5 years Matt hopes to have caught up with growing the revenue of the company that he should have done in the past 5 years or have left the industry. Industry wise, what happens with the efforts of a mandated key release time and/or atomic settlement and how the industry reacts to it, and also what happens next economically.
Outside of the industry Matt enjoys motor racing in which he participates, time with his wife and children (which should have come first, but Matt has petrol flowing through his veins!) and reading.
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story regarding a survey, and Matt provides an interesting story about witness relocation.
Enjoy!
Links to M&G Movers & Storers:
* Website (https://www.moversandstorers.co.uk/)
Special Guest: Matt Faizey.
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Jul 27, 2023
Episode 72: Moving Matters with Adam Chudley of B K Moving & Storage Group
In this episode Adam Chudley, Director of B K Moving & Storage Group discusses how he got involved within the industry about 20 years ago, although he feels he was born into the industry as he is the son of Mark Chudley (episode 23 (https://www.movingmatterspodcast.co.uk/23)) and grandson of Derek Blatchford.
B K Moving & Storage Group are based in Exeter and trade under the names of Blatchford’s International, King & Kearey and Westcountry Removals. Blatchford’s was started by Adam’s great grandfather Walter Blatchford in the 1930’s, making Adam a fourth-generation remover! B K Moving offer local and national removals, some commercial and specialise in International, but not so much European due to changes in recent years. They have a 13,000 sqft containerised warehouse, and currently run 3 trucks and 1 van, employ 5 with a crew of 3.
Adam’s challenges have been related to family businesses, starting with working within the family business (Chudley Moving & Shipping), then leaving the industry for a few years in an emergency, which was unplanned and happened overnight, to help with another family business, and finally returning to the industry in his current role within another family business.
Adam doesn’t believe in changes from his past, but more what lessons has he learned, ‘bend from the knees’ being one! However, Adam is sad that his time out of the industry coincided with Mark’s (Dad) BAR Presidency.
Adam’s personal highpoint of being within the industry was his last BAR Conference in Bournemouth, which not only did he attend with his father and grandfather, but also gave a presentation on the BAR Young Movers Group, which he was involved in at the time.
After hearing several previous podcast episodes regarding regulating the 3.5 tonne brigade, Adam would controversially not like to have additional regulation in place but would rather push DVSA to use the laws already in place. However, he would like to change the key handover and the way the industry is treated by the Estate Agent/Solicitor, and encourages every mover to not only have a strict waiting time charge policy but to enforce it too.
The advice Adam would give himself (or gave himself recently) just starting out within the industry again is to network – as an industry we are very friendly and are prepared to share a lot of information.
In the next 5 years Adam will transition more into working on his own as David (Adam’s business partner) will be looking at retirement. Industry wise, Adam doesn’t see any huge changes, apart from truck and van technology that will be enforced upon us, but he does believe we have an interesting couple of years ahead due to the current economic climate.
Adam’s current situation does allow him to have a good work/life balance, so, outside of the industry he is a football fan (a season ticket holder at Bristol City FC), enjoys family time with his wife and 2 daughters and has a passion for the theatre and amateur dramatics.
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding a previous podcast guest, Mr Neil Purdie (episode 47 (https://www.movingmatterspodcast.co.uk/47)) himself.
Enjoy!
Links to BK Moving & Storage Group:
* Blatchford's Website (https://www.blatchfordsint.co.uk)
* King & Kearey Website (https://www.kingandkearey.co.uk/)
* King & Kearey Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kingandkearey/)
* Westcountry Removals Website (https://www.westcountryremovals.co.uk/)
Special Guest: Adam Chudley.
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Jul 13, 2023
Episode 71: Moving Matters with Edward Kessell of Martell's of Sutton
In this episode Edward Kessel, Removals Manager of Martell’s of Sutton discusses how he got involved within the industry, probably like many, working as a porter during the summer holidays from his A levels, and has completed over 25 years’ service, all for Martell’s.
Martell’s are a family owned and run company, and have been trading mainly in retail since 1917, starting as a pram and bedstead shop in the Elephant & Castle, London. Martell’s have a department store in East Grinstead, own several properties which they rent within the private sector, and commercial premises for storage and office space. On the moving side they cover all of the usual removal services, running a mixed fleet of 6 vehicles, employing 15 fulltime staff and offer self-storage as well as containerised storage (using the 250 cuft steel containers).
One of Ed’s biggest challenges is staff, not only finding new staff but also current staff are less inclined to want to spend days and nights away from homes, and some are not even interested in overtime. Ed has even had to incentivise bonus schemes for some of the staff to do nights away.
Ed doesn’t have anything major that he would change from his moving past, although he has learned some hard lessons along the way.
Ed’s highpoints of being within the industry are; professionally, being the Chairman of the BAR National Group Council, which gives Ed a seat on the BAR Board, and personally, the jobs Ed has quoted and moved, one in particular to the Cayman Islands.
Ed would like to change a couple of things within the industry, one being more regulation for the 3.5 tonne sector and the other being the house purchase process, two controversial topics indeed!
The advice Ed would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to embrace every opportunity presented.
In the next 5 years Ed hopes to still be at Martell’s looking after operations, and to still be involved with the BAR. Industry wise, the electric vehicle rollout is coming but Ed doesn’t think as an industry (and as a nation) we are ready for it.
Outside of the industry Ed likes to travel, spend quality time with the family, cooking and enjoys go-karting.
And as always we end Moving Matters with not one but three funny moving stories; a move to Portugal with Ed’s now wife, a TV cameo debut, and a bit of removal banter.
Enjoy!
Links to Martells:
* Website (https://www.martellsremovals.co.uk/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Martells.Removals.Storage/)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/MartellStorage)
* Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/Martells2020/)
Special Guest: Edward Kessell.
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Jun 22, 2023
Episode 70: Moving Matters with Dan Braddock of GB Liners
In this episode, former guest Dan Braddock, Branch Manager of GB Liners, reminds us how he began within the industry some 18 years ago, working for the family business before joining GB Liners where he has spent the last 14 years.
GB Liners have 11 branches, run approximately 100 vehicles, employ in-excess of 250, and offer self-storage, containerised storage, document storage, and provide local, nationwide, European, and international removals for the domestic and corporate markets – and this year celebrate 100 years since the start of the family business.
One of Dan’s biggest challenges was when Sophie, Dan’s wife, was diagnosed with Leukaemia in 2013, at a time where Dan was given an opportunity to move from the vans to the estimating and sales side of the business, and Dan will always be grateful to GB Liners for their continued support during Sophie’s treatment.
The one thing Dan would change from his moving past is to ask more questions, question a lot more things, and not to be so worried about the unknown.
Dan has had several highpoints of being within the industry so far, the development he’s had within GB Liners and the industry and what he’s achieved, becoming part of the BAR Young Movers Group, and being elected as the youngest DED (Directly Elected Director) of BAR, which we discuss in more detail.
The one thing Dan would like to change within the industry is have a mentorship program.
The advice Dan would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to listen to the advice and the criticism, to never stop learning, and getting the balance right.
Dan is very happy with what he is doing at the moment but feels that he should probably get his head up (rather than down) and answer that question for himself, so we will just have to see how the next 5 years pans out for Dan. Industry wise, Dan does see a change in trucks, but maybe hydrogen over electric?
We discuss getting new blood into the industry and Dan asks the question of whether it’s more of an issue retaining rather than getting new blood?
Outside of the industry Dan is ruled by his children, he enjoys being busy with family life, and loves to get away when the opportunity arises.
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding a Friday night in Cologne.
Enjoy!
Links to GB Liners:
* Website (https://www.gbliners.com/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/gblinersltd/)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/gbliners)
* Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gbliners/)
* Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gb-liners-ltd)
Special Guest: Daniel Braddock.
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Jun 8, 2023
Episode 69: Moving Matters with Derek Milner of Intransit Removals & Storage
In this episode, Derek Milner, Managing Director of Intransit Removals & Storage, discusses how he began within the industry in 1997 as a part time venture, selling his car to buy a transit van, and having no background in removals and storage at all.
Derek maintains that having a side line to removals, such shop deliveries, is a necessity to help with the quiet times within the moving industry. In 2015/16 Derek was running 15 vehicles and an average of 22 staff, today, Intransit Removals & Storage run 10 vehicles (5 x vans, 1 x 7.5 tonne, 2 x 12 tonne, 2 x 18 tonne), with a crew of 7, and are primarily domestic removers and storers, offering mainly containerised storage (approximately 130) but they do have shipping containers too.
One of Derek’s biggest business challenges was being taken to court by a trade association in 2014, which Derek and his legal team (Backhouse Jones) won. However, Derek’s biggest personal challenge was to come shortly after this on April 6th (2014), a motocross accident, where Derek was revived twice, and not only did he break his spine but suffered brain damage too! – Derek was given a 10% chance of walking and only a 3% chance of survival!
Derek wouldn’t change anything from his moving past as he’s quite pleased and proud with what he’s achieved.
Derek’s highpoint of being within the industry is the current staff and vehicles that he has, and a ‘reasonable’ highpoint was being accepted into the British Association of Removers and is a regular attendee of the Western Area meetings.
The one thing Derek would like to change within the industry is how everything is current so last minute and would like customers to contact removers well in advance of their actual removal day.
Apart from don’t, the advice Derek would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to not give up, as it's not just about moving the contents of someone’s home.
In the next 5 years Derek believes the industry will continue to be a struggle for another 12 months yet, but then it will kick back in.
Outside of the industry, despite being a workaholic and since his horrific accident, Derek has undertaken a healthy lifestyle and become a gym freak, attending the gym 3-4 times a week. He also enjoys watching motorsport on TV and spending time with his family.
And sadly, we don’t end Moving Matters with a funny moving story as Derek didn’t have one to tell.
Enjoy!
Links to Intransit Removals & Storage:
* Website (https://wiltshireremovals.com/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/IntransitRemovalsStorage)
* Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/intransit1997/)
Special Guest: Derek Milner.
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May 25, 2023
Episode 68: Moving Matters with Rod Hepworth of It's Your Move Ilkley
In this episode, Rod Hepworth, Director of It’s Your Move Ilkley, discusses how he began within the industry 23 years ago at the ripe old age of 40, after a life of many careers including a Cow Inseminator and a Professional DJ!
Rod founded It’s Your Move Ilkley in 2007, which provides mainly domestic moving, storage and packing services, local and national (although they do International too using forwarding agents), running 2 HGV’s, 4 low loaders, a panel van, and 7 members of staff.
It’s Your Move Ilkley have been members of Move Assured for the last 3 years but is hoping to join the British Association of Removers imminently.
Rod’s biggest challenges were learning to grow the business and become a professional company, and becoming VAT registered (in 2013) where he had to compete with local non-VAT registered movers.
The one thing Rod would like to change from his moving past is to learn the industry quicker.
Rod hopes his highpoint of being within the industry is still to come (even at the age of 63!) but believes joining the BAR will be one. Covid, or rather the Stamp Duty Holiday was a highpoint (the golden age of removals).
The one thing Rod would like to change within the industry is the conveyancing system which Rod says is outdated and disjointed. Rod would also like to see the VAT threshold lowered.
The advice Rod would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to do it 20 years earlier!
In the next 5 years Rod hopes to be doing a little bit less, delegating a little bit more, and It’s Your Move Ilkley to continue being successful. Industry wise Rod sees no major changes, he doesn’t believe in legislation for the 3.5 tonners, or that electric vehicles will make too much of an impact.
Outside of the industry Rod follows football, sponsoring his local team Guiseley, but his passion lies with Manchester United. Rod also loves traveling, music and attending concerts, Rod is a big Bruce Springsteen fan!
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding Mrs Mad.
Enjoy!
Links to It's Your Move Ilkley:
* Website (https://www.itsyourmoveremovals-ilkley.co.uk/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Itsyourmoveyorkshire)
Special Guest: Rod Hepworth.
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May 11, 2023
Episode 67: Moving Matters with Martin Budd of Pickfords
In this episode, Martin Budd, Sales Director & Brand Ambassador of Pickfords, discusses how he began within the industry, firstly within records management in 2001 with Hays, before joining Sirva (Pickfords) in 2003 for 3 years followed by Crown, and then PHS Data Solutions. And in 2016, Martin was invited to re-join Pickfords where he remains to this day.
Martin discusses what a Brand Ambassador is, it’s not just your logo, it’s what you do and the way you do things.
Pickfords is the de facto brand recognition of the industry (for those 35 and older, states Martin), and they move anything, anywhere, anytime. Pickfords have approximately 50 branches (46 warehouse units) throughout the UK, where they took on an additional 15 branches/warehouse units last year and are looking to put more dots on the map as they return (once again) to the local markets, where back in the hay day Pickfords had approximately 175 locations within the UK with a fleet of 6-700 vehicles!
Martin is the current Chairman of the BAR Commercial Moving Group (which has 50 members). However, his tenure finishes in May when Robert Poyner of Crown Workspace takes over the role.
Martin’s biggest challenge is working within an industry that is very tyre kicking focused, but also managing the relationship between the technical and sales parts, as Martin likes to look at things from the customers perspective. A challenge for Pickfords is that it has an aging workforce, but they do run a pro-active apprenticeship program for a variety of roles within the business.
Martin wouldn’t change anything from his moving past as he feels incredibly lucky to have joined Pickfords at a time (2003-2006) where he was able to soak up as much knowledge and experience as possible from some great people working there.
Martin’s highpoint of being within the industry was winning the contract to move NATO’s headquarters in Brussels in 2016/17, where 2/2.5 years was spent on the project management alone, and the physical move consisted of 4,200 staff, 19km of secret archives, 200 safes and 2,700 crate movements, into a building of 254,000 square metres! Martin even convinced NATO to make a film of the entire moving process, something you can see yourself on the Pickfords TV YouTube channel here (https://youtu.be/rvls3XRoL_Q).
The one thing Martin would like to change within the industry is how customers try to commoditise our industry, by doing a group walk around on commercial moves.
The advice Martin would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to soak up as much knowledge and experience as you can.
In the next 5 years Martin hopes to still be at Pickfords doing what he does today as he absolutely loves it. Industry wise, he does see people moving back to working in office environments again, albeit different to pre-pandemic days, and the man and van industry scares Martin where the consumer does not see the value or expertise of getting a professional mover.
Outside of the industry Martin loves great food, great drink, travelling, meeting people, and loves to live life.
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding a defibrillator.
Enjoy!
Links to Pickfords:
* Website (https://www.pickfords.co.uk/)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pickfords)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/pickfords)
* Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pickfordsmoving)
* YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/PickfordsTV)
Special Guest: Martin Budd.
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Apr 27, 2023
Episode 66: Moving Matters with Paul Taylor of White Rose Removals
In this episode, Paul Taylor, Managing Director of White Rose Removals, discusses how he began within the industry working for removal companies in West Yorkshire before setting up his own company 12 years ago.
Today, White Rose Removals are based in Leeds and share office and warehouse space with GB Liners. White Rose Removals primarily undertake domestic moving and packing services as well as storage, and commercial relocations (passing European and International work to GB Liners), running 3 x HVG (soon to be 4), 5 x 3.5 tonne (including Paul’s battered old sprinter!) and have a manual labour force of 6-7 full timers and several self-employed.
Paul see’s every day as a challenge, but his main one was the teething pains of growing a business.
The one thing Paul would like to change from his moving past is getting his pricing right, which he should have done years ago by having confidence not only in himself but his business too.
Paul has two highpoints of being within the industry, firstly becoming a member of the BAR (British Association of Removers), and secondly the recent stamp duty holiday. Paul also claims another highpoint is every time he gets a new truck, which he names after a woman in his life, although the sprinter remains unnamed!
The one thing Paul would like to change within the industry is to legislate it, making it more professional and therefore giving it more respect.
The advice Paul would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to professionalise everything from the start, and to not be afraid to charge more money.
In the next 5 years Paul hopes to expand the business further, but he would also like to address his and Hannah’s (wife) work life balance, taking more of a backseat within the business. Industry wise Paul believes it will be very similar to what it is today and remain very cutthroat.
Outside of the industry Paul is a massive Leeds United Football fan, something his dad introduced him to as a child, and is a home and away season ticket holder. Paul (and Hannah) loves a trip to Tenerife (every 2-3 months), and spending time with his wife and children.
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding an email of complaint.
Enjoy!
Links to White Rose Removals:
* Website (https://whiteroseremovals.com/)
* Facebook (https://facebook.com/whiteroseremovals)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/MoversWhiteRose)
Special Guest: Paul Taylor.
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Apr 13, 2023
Episode 65: Moving Matters with Retired Remover Phil Hambleton
In this episode, Phil Hambleton, who has just retired, discusses how he got involved within the industry in 1984, when he and his parents decided to buy a small removal company and rebrand it as Hambleton’s.
After building up Hambleton’s, Phil’s parents decided to retire in 2002, and Phil consequently sold Hambleton’s in 2004 to North West Removals after it became too much for Phil (as one person) to run. At the time of selling Hambleton’s ran 6 trucks and housed approximately 500 containers in a 10,000 sqft warehouse.
Since selling Hambleton’s Phil has remained within the moving industry, where he has worked for Pickfords (for a 12-month period, under incoming BAR President Mike Andrews), Anglo Pacific (for 7 years, until he was made redundant) and finally GB Liners, where he has spent his past 12 years, before retiring at the end of February 2023.
Phil has overcome several challenges during his time within the industry, transitioning from owner to employee being one, staf…
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Mar 23, 2023
Episode 64: Moving Matters with Rob Hindmarsh of Knaresborough Movers Ltd
In this episode Rob Hindmarsh, Managing Director of Knaresborough Movers, discusses how he got involved within the industry 30 years ago at the tender age of 15, working for a local removal company during weekends and school holidays.
The day Rob left school he started full time employment with K.W. Removals in Ripon (sadly no longer trading), where he worked for 13 years, starting as a porter, then as a 7.5 tonne driver once he had past his test at the age of 17, and moving onto HGV’s at 21. Rob also covered the sales and warehouse side while his boss was away.
Today Rob owns Knaresborough Movers, offering local and nationwide removals, containerised storage, trade assistance, and is a member of Move Assured. Rob runs 2 vehicles (but is currently looking to add a 5 container HGV) and has a full-time crew of 3, and a part-time crew member.
Rob’s biggest challenge was building up the business and taking the step to obtaining his operator licence, moving from luton vans to HGV, and I…
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Mar 9, 2023
Episode 63: Moving Matters with Josh Pask of Pask's Removals
In this episode Josh Pask, Managing Director of Pask’s Removals, discusses how he got involved in the industry only 2 years ago during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Josh is a professional football player and after a transfer from West Ham United to Coventry City he suffered ligament damage to one of his ankles at the start of the football season. Once back to playing midway through the season the pandemic hit, and realising the career of a professional footballer is so short Josh set about thinking of ideas of way to provide long term financial sustainability for his family. Josh kept remembering how a local man and van service made good money from his move from London to Coventry, and so the idea of being in Removals was born.
Pask’s Removals opened for business in November 2020, and are a London based company providing domestic and commercial moves, a full packing service, storage (containerised through a third party), and they have also provided a couple of European moves…
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Feb 23, 2023
Episode 62: Moving Matters with Andrew White of Dream Move Relocation
In this episode Andrew White, Managing Director of Dream Move Relocation, discusses how he got involved in working with movers some 15 years ago, helping with the relocation of employees, individuals, families, and pets.
Dream Move Relocation is based in the North West, but can operate nationwide, and assist with the finding of properties for people relocating to the UK, including helping with setting the property up, legals, schooling, social activities, banking, and much, much more!
Andrews’s challenges, especially early on was starting his own business, with the mindset of going from an employee to an employer and the mental pressure involved. Covid was another challenge for Andrew with no one able or even wanting to relocate, and today's challenge is a lack of available properties.
The one thing Andrew would like to change from his moving, or rather relocation past is the timeline and bringing it into modern times and streamlining the process.
Andrew’s highpoint of being within…
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Feb 9, 2023
Episode 61: Moving Matters with Craig Atkinson of Craig Atkinson Removals
In this episode Craig Atkinson, Director of Craig Atkinson Removals, discusses how he returned to the industry 5 years ago after a decent break, but started within the industry at the tender age of 16.
Today, Craig Atkinson Removals is a relatively small company based in Burnley, Lancashire, that only undertake domestic moves and packing services. Craig has a team of 6 and runs 3 vehicles, hiring more when required.
We discover where Tommy Turbo came from, a mascot created from one of Craig’s brainwaves!
Craig hasn’t actually had any direct challenges, but one Craig has found hard is himself, getting out of his own comfort zone.
The one thing Craig would change from his moving past is to learn to delegate more.
Craig’s highpoint of being in the industry is seeing his name on the van for the first time, but also starting his own business.
The one thing Craig would like to change within the industry is how movers are perceived by those within the industry, especially how some of th…
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Jan 26, 2023
Episode 60: Moving Matters with Gerrard Halsey of Gerrard Halsey Video Surveys
In this episode Gerrard Halsey, Founder of Gerrard Halsey Video Surveys, discusses how he stumbled into the industry back in 1996 as a 19 year old summer student to help out in the warehouse of Interconex, where 6 weeks turned into a 25 year career within the industry.
Gerrard was at Interconex for 4 years (1996-2000) before being made redundant after learning Interconex was being merged with Interdean, and in 2001 Gerrard began a very colourful and flourishing career at Crown Relocations, where after 4-5 years in the London office Gerrard was handed the task of setting up a new branch in Bristol from scratch. In 2013 Gerrard was also given the opportunity to relocate to Australia where he took over the Canberra branch.
Gerrard Halsey Video Surveys is a business Gerrard setup in 2019, after implementing video surveys for Crown Relocations in 2016. In 2020 Gerrard was in the right place at the right time, the pandemic provided Gerrard’s company with unprecedented growth, as the demand…
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Dec 22, 2022
Episode 59: Moving Matters with Adam Maton of wemove
In this episode Adam Maton, Owner and Founder of wemove, discusses how he began his man and van journey in the sexy world of removals & storage 6 years ago, although Adam’s initial career started in the corporate world of Risk Management, where he worked for 8 years before relocating to China to teach English for year.
wemove provide a full domestic removal service (mainly local), packing and some storage, running 4 x 3.5 tonne lutons (with no aspirations to run a big truck) and employ a fulltime team of 7.
One of Adam’s challenges was lack of industry knowledge when he started out. Another challenge was and still is staffing, due to the yearly, monthly, weekly and daily challenges faced by the industry as a whole.
The one thing Adam would change from his moving past is to have started his own storage, as wemove currently sub storage, but it is something Adam will be looking to focus his efforts on over the next 6-12 months during the expected downturn within the removals industry.…
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Dec 8, 2022
Episode 58: Moving Matters with Holly Oven of Britannia Alan Cook
In this episode Holly Oven, Transport Manager of Britannia Alan Cook discusses how she began in the industry only 2 years ago and is still a mere 21 years of age!
Holly has always been indirectly involved within the industry, but her initial career path was to be in accounting where she began her training during and after college, until Covid happened.
Britannia Alan Cook is a family business which Holly’s parents bought in 2008, as Alan Cook Removals, joining Britannia Movers International in 2018. Today Britannia Alan Cook operate 25 vehicles (10 trucks, 1 trailer, 15 vans), have 3 warehouses across 2 sites and employ approximately 40 staff. Britannia Alan Cook specialise in the domestic removals & storage market, self-storage, international relocation and offer a shredding service.
Holly’s biggest challenge has been having a young and female voice on the telephone, where customers would question her knowledge. Other challenges have been being the boss’s daughter, and more rece…
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Nov 24, 2022
Episode 57: Moving Matters with Judith Bennett of Britannia Bennetts of Malvern - Part 2
Continuing on from Episode 56 (https://www.movingmatterspodcast.co.uk/56), the one thing Judith would like to change within the industry is the whole exchange and completion experience, making it more legalised and no longer allowing exchange and completion on the same day, and to become prouder in requiring a financial commitment from the customer, such as a deposit.
The advice Judith would give herself just starting out in the industry again is that the only person stopping you is yourself, not be afraid of your dreams, and to have courage and faith in you and your team’s ability.
In the next 5 years Judith hopes to spend more time away from the business, maybe stepping back a little, but is happy to continue in any role her team delegate to her. Industry wise Judith doesn’t think the days of self-driving trucks will be in her lifetime, but does think we will be moving less as more items come fitted within new houses.
Outside of the industry Judith enjoys walking the family dog,…
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Nov 10, 2022
Episode 56: Moving Matters with Judith Bennett of Britannia Bennetts of Malvern - Part 1
In this episode (part 1 of 2) Judith Bennett, Director of Britannia Bennetts of Malvern discusses how she began in the industry nearly 25 years ago after going on a blind date through mutual friends with the enigma that is Alan Bennett (episode 35 (https://www.movingmatterspodcast.co.uk/35)), who Judith got engaged to only 8 weeks later!
Britannia Bennetts run 4 HGV’s, 4 low-loaders, have a 20,000 sqft warehouse with 350 containers and 130 self-storage rooms. We discover what lead Judith (and Alan) into the self-storage industry as Malvern Self-Storage, which was led by customer demand in choice.
Judith’s challenge is being female in a male dominated industry, although this has changed as there are a lot more women in key roles today than when Judith started 25 years ago.
The one thing Judith would like to change from her moving past is to have more confidence in the business decisions she and Alan made in their early days in business together.
And I ask Judith if she thinks female…
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Oct 27, 2022
Episode 55: Moving Matters with Graham Byers of Removal Services Scotland
In this episode Graham Byers, Managing Director of Removal Services Scotland discusses how he began in the industry in 1986 as a trainee manager for Pickfords, becoming their youngest branch manager at the tender age of 21!
In 1992/3 Graham’s good friend Ian Wright started Removal Services Scotland, a company Graham joined from the offset, and in 2017 Graham and his colleague Greg McMullan took over ownership.
Removal Services Scotland is your traditional domestic and commercial removal company with its own container storage facility. Removal Services Scotland also provide European removals, which since Brexit has become more complicated, bureaucratic, time consuming and costly, but they are getting better prices due to fewer companies providing this service.
Graham has faced many challenges in his removal career, especially in the last 5 years since becoming a company owner but moving from a long-standing employee to company owner has been his biggest.
The one thing Graham would lik…
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Oct 13, 2022
Episode 54: Moving Matters with Tommy McNee of Guardian Moving & Storage
In this episode Tommy McNee, General Manager of Guardian Moving & Storage returns for a full episode and discusses how he began in the industry nearly 20 years ago, but prior to that and when just out of nappies (Tommy’s words not mine) he began travelling with his Dad who had started a delivery company and consequently branched out into removals.
Tommy was due to go to Sterling University, to become an accountant or an actuary, however, from the age of 15 he was working the summer holidays for his Dad, earning £161.40 for a 45 hour week, a wage he soon got used to, and therefore ended up telling his Dad that he no longer wanted to go to university but wanted to work instead.
Guardian Moving & Storage are based between West Lothian and Edinburgh, and they provide mainly domestic and commercial relocation services, facilitate overseas relocation, provide containerised and self-storage as well as archive storage services.
Tommy has faced new challenges since becoming part owner of Gua…
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Sep 8, 2022
Episode 53: Moving Matters with Adam Sinclair of Sterling Sinclair Removals
In this episode Adam Sinclair, Managing Director of Sterling Sinclair Removals discusses how he began in the industry only 6 years ago (in 2016) at the tender age of 23, after experiencing removals several times during his professional rugby career.
Sterling Sinclair Removals have a fleet of 6/7 lutons/loloaders, a 18, a 15 and a 7.5 tonne truck. Storage wise Adam has 130 shipping containers in Sterling, with 110 shipping containers in Edinburgh, and 100 wooden 250 cuft containers in a rented warehouse. Adam has recently purchased additional land at his Sterling yard where he plans to add a further 100 shipping containers, together with a further 150 shipping containers in Edinburgh.
Adam faces challenges every day, with a business constantly expanding he ensures that the service levels are kept high, to keep up with the expectations of his clients. Also, in the early days how to price a job was a challenge, especially as Adam was a total newcomer to the industry.
The one thing Adam wo…
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Aug 25, 2022
Episode 52: Moving Matters with Andy Shotbolt of Britannia Reeves
In this episode Andy Shotbolt, Managing Director of Britannia Reeves discusses how he began in the industry after a (non-working) 3 night trip away to Scotland at the tender age of 11 with his grandfather, who was a driver for White & Co, a company Andy joined, becoming a fourth generation remover for the company.
Andy spent approximately 18 years at White & Co, starting as a porter for Curtiss & Sons (a division of White & Co based in Portsmouth) before moving onto their Southampton branch and then head office in Botley. 24 years ago, Andy joined Britannia Reeves and today heads up the company as Managing Director.
Britannia Reeves celebrates 125 years in business this year, starting in 1897 by Robert Reeves originally as rag-and-bone. In the mid 90’s Reeves of Petersfield joined Britannia (prior to Andy joining the business), and today Britannia Reeves cover all aspects of removals, have 2 containerised warehouses holding approximately 800 containers, 2 smaller warehouses which hav…
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Aug 11, 2022
Episode 51: Moving Matters with Max Kreynin of Voxme Software Inc
In this episode Max Kreynin, Managing Partner of VoxMe Software discusses how he began as a fellow supplier to the industry some 22 years ago after being told by his brother to develop tech for moving.
VoxMe Software is a Canadian based company, with offices and staff in Israel, Europe and the Far East, and they provide mobile apps for pre-move surveys, digital inventory control, scanning and label printing, a full stack move management system for removals, a fine art logistics system and a virtual survey app. All the inside and practical knowledge of the apps is down to Max’s brother Roman who was a mover from 1991 until 2017 when he sold his successful moving company.
Max’s biggest challenge has been the lack of technological savviness from the owners and upper management to trust their own staff to just go and learn to use mobile apps.
The one thing Max would like to change from his moving past as a supplier to the industry is to have taken a bottom-up approach rather than his t…
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Jul 28, 2022
Episode 50: Moving Matters with Mark Tresler of Britannia Movers International plc
In this episode Mark Tresler, Managing Director of Britannia Movers International discusses how he began his career in the industry joining Britannia almost 19 years ago as a temporary financial controller on a 6 month contract.
Britannia Movers International is a co-operative of likeminded business owner/managers who all trade under the same brand and are shareholders within Britannia. Britannia consists of approximately 35 companies in 40 depots around the UK, 2 in South Africa and 1 in Spain. Britannia provide imports, exports, UK corporate, UK international and military relocations.
Mark explains that Britannia are looking for new members, specifically in Scotland, Cumbria, Coventry, Reading and Maidenhead, to name a few areas. Membership requirements are that 2 vehicles are liveried at the start of the relationship, BAR membership (or an intention to join) and BSEN12522.
Mark has had several challenges in his 19 years, the main ones being the financial side of Britannia when he f…
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Jul 14, 2022
Episode 49: Moving Matters with Ian Siddle of Arnold & Self
In this episode Ian Siddle, Managing Director of Arnold & Self discusses how he began his career in the industry some 33 years ago, joining Arnold & Self after being refused time off for his skiing holiday from his first job!
Arnold & Self was originally formed by Andy Self & Peter Arnold in 1986, mainly providing furniture delivery services for Alders during the week and undertaking removals at weekends. Today, Arnold & Self is owned by Ian, and operate predominantly in the domestic removals & storage market, although they also provide commercial relocation, archive storage and trade work. Arnold & Self operate 4 trucks, 3 lutons, and employ a daily team of 10-14, a small office team and a surveyor.
Ian’s biggest challenge was the crash of 2008 and the liquidation of the company, which Ian states was a challenging time but a very rewarding time as well.
The one thing Ian would like to change from his moving past would be to have got involved with the BAR (British Association of Remo…
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Jun 23, 2022
Episode 48: Moving Matters with Joshua Taylor of Caversham Moves
In this episode Joshua Taylor, Managing Director of Caversham Moves discusses how he began his career in the industry 15 years ago, which was on a part-time basis for 10 years during his initial career as a sports & massage therapist.
Caversham Moves was formed 5 years ago (although their management team have 15-20 years of experience within the removals industry) and are based in Berkshire, providing predominantly local and national domestic moving services, although they also provide packing, installation, furniture delivery and trade assistance services too. Caversham Moves run a fleet of 2 x 18 tonne, 1 x 7.5 tonne and 5 x vans, employ a staff of 10 (employing only those living within a 3 mile radius of their operating centre) and offer containerised storage in 2 warehouses.
Joshua’s biggest challenges was firstly coming into the industry and starting a business with zero assets and zero financing, and secondly purchasing good reliable assets as the company grew.
Things that Josh…
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Jun 9, 2022
Episode 47: Moving Matters with Neil Purdie of Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage
In this episode Neil Purdie, Managing Director of Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage discusses how he began his career in the industry some 21 glorious years ago, delivering coal in the company’s early years before the role of the business changed to removals and storage.
The original company was started in 1960 by Neil’s grandfather, as Matt Purdie & Sons, a coal merchant but he quickly began to see opportunities in moving and storage, where Matt Jnr (Neil’s uncle) and Archie (Neil’s father) became directors. In 2015 Matt Purdie & Sons was subject to a takeover and is now known as Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage.
Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage offer domestic, international, and commercial moves, as well as storage and self-storage. They currently run 26 vehicles, employ 46 staff, and have recently expanded into property maintenance and haulage.
Neil says every day brings its own challenges, growing up and working within the family business was and still is challengin…
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May 26, 2022
Episode 46: Moving Matters with Andrew Fahey of P. Fahey & Sons LLP
In this episode, Andrew Fahey, Director of P. Fahey & Sons discusses how he began his career within the industry by joining the family business some 40 years ago.
P. Fahey & Sons is based in Manchester and was started by Andrew’s grandfather some 65 years ago from a second-hand shop. However, legend would have it that, Andrew’s great, great, grandfather moved to Chicago in the 1890’s to work for Wells Fargo Transport.
Andrew’s biggest challenge is being enthusiastic to carry on doing what he’s doing!
Andrew didn’t have anything to change from his moving past but going forward he would like to change conveyancing.
Andrew’s highpoint of being within the industry is being able to do what he’s been able to do over the last couple of years regarding Covid, learning to adapt, keeping customers and staff safe, and having the lads step up to the challenge.
Apart from the conveyancing, Andrew would like to change the pay and conditions for the guys, and women of course.
Andrew…
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May 12, 2022
Episode 45: Moving Matters with Jordan Bignell of Britannia Quickmove
In this episode, Jordan Bignell, Managing Director of Britannia Quickmove discusses how he began his career in the industry some 10 years ago as an apprentice, and only 2 years ago became the proud owner of Britannia Quickmove, just in time for a pandemic to arrive!
Quickmove was originally started by Peter Monk in the early 70’s, where some twenty years later he joined Britannia Movers International. In 2017 Peter sold the business to a local self-storage company, who then sold the removal side of the business (which included Phillips Removals, a small local removal company that have been around since the 1860/70’s) to Jordan & his wife in 2020.
Jordan’s biggest challenge that he’s had to overcome in the industry is his youth. Other challenges are the line ‘that’s how it’s always been done’, and managing the risk of Covid, but having only been in the industry for 10 tender years he does expect challenges ahead.
The one thing Jordan would change from his moving past is…
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Apr 28, 2022
Episode 44: Moving Matters with David Strank of Stranks Removals & Storage
In this episode David Strank, Director of Stranks Removals & Storage discusses how he became a third-generation remover after beginning his fulltime career in the industry at the tender age of 16 (although he helped in his father’s business from the age of 11!), even after being told not to join the family business.
Stranks Removals & Storage was started by David’s grandfather in Thornton Heath, Surrey, in 1941, who was an engineer by trade working in the bomb factory during the day and moving people from their bombed homes during the night. Today Stranks Removals & Storage are based in Ashford, Kent, having taken the decision several years ago to completely relocate themselves to a brand new area. They cover all aspects of removals, running 4 trucks, 5 vans, employ 17 staff and store 250 containers within their own 13,000 sqft warehouse.
David’s challenges have been varied, but an immense challenge was relocating the company from Thornton Heath to Ashford. Covid was and still is…
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Apr 14, 2022
Episode 43: Moving Matters with Angus Russell of Britannia Lanes of Somerset & Bristol
In this episode Angus Russell, General Manager of Britannia Lanes of Somerset & Bristol discusses how he began his career within the industry some 34 years ago after responding to an advert in The Times for a Trainee Manager at Hoults.
Although Angus wasn’t born into the industry, he does believe he was born to be in this industry having spent most of his youth as an expat, relocating from country to country. In his 34 year career Angus has only worked for 3 companies, Hoults (2 years), Bishops Move (15 years) & Britannia Lanes (17 years currently).
Earlier than usual in the podcast, Angus tells us that his greatest point of being in the industry was convincing his bosses at the time (Bishops Move) that they should be represented at the BAR conference, which Angus then attended. And it was at the BAR conference at The Belfry that Angus met fellow conference attendee Ms Maria Lane, who in 2006 became Mrs Maria Russell, hence Angus’s move from Bishops Move to Britannia Lanes of Somer…
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Mar 24, 2022
Episode 42: Moving Matters with Pauline Collins of The Voerman Group
In this episode Pauline Collins, Partner Relations Manager of The Voerman Group discusses how she began her career 33 years ago in the International Moving market, starting in a Sales Support role at Anglo Pacific – Pauline too is a fellow lifer of this wonderful industry.
The Voerman Group were founded in 1986, their headquarters are in The Hague, The Netherlands, and they have with locations in Moscow and Prague, service centres in Asia and the United States, and affiliations with companies in a variety of locations across the globe. The Voerman Group while predominantly international movers, also provide private and trade groupage solutions, commercial moving, and insurance solutions.
Pauline hasn’t had any great personal challenges to overcome, which she puts down to working with some truly great people, Sarah Rowlands, Paul Evans, Jack Dorrington, Nick Kerr, to name but a few, who supported and encouraged her to be the best version of herself. For the industry, the challenge i…
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Mar 10, 2022
Episode 41: Moving Matters with Darrel Baker of Humphreys Removals
In this episode Darrel Baker, Director of Humphreys Removals discusses how he began his career some 30 years ago, even though his passion was to be a professional footballer. Starting as a warehouse picker and progressing to forklift driver, operations manager, and estimator at Humphreys Removals, before he and his wife were given the opportunity to purchase the company in 2019.
Today Humphreys Removals provide local, distance, European and International domestic moves, through its network of contractors (BAR members) that Darrel has built up over the years due to Humphreys Removals having no trucks, drivers or porters.
Darrel recalls the wonderfully superb series of The Moving Story, which featured Elite Removals, and was filmed over 2 seasons at Humphreys Removals – If you have never watched an episode then I encourage you to find it online if you can.
Darrel had an immediate challenge shortly after taking ownership of Humphreys Removals, Covid, which was then followed by the Stamp…
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Feb 24, 2022
Episode 40: Moving Matters with Wesley Bourne of Bournes
In this episode Wesley Bourne, Managing Director of Bournes Moves discusses how he began his career at the tender age of 15, where his first payroll date was August 22nd, 1994 and became a 5th generation removal man.
Bournes was established back in 1875 by Thomas Bourne, starting as a coal merchant and general haulier. In the 1960’s brothers Eric & Roy Bourne joined the business (sons of Stanley Bourne, who was the grandson of Thomas Bourne) and took over from Stanley in 1974. In 2016 Wesley together with his brother Leon (sons of Eric) and cousin Tom (son of Roy) took over ownership of Bournes Moves. Wesley is also Chairman of the advisory board of Harmony Relocation Network, a recently appointed director at MTC Ltd and is a member of the BAR Overseas Moving Group committee.
Today Bournes Moves currently provide a variety of moving services and is operated across 4 branches (Aylesbury, Cranleigh, Tonbridge Wells, with headquarters being in Rye), employing just over 100, running appr…
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Feb 10, 2022
Episode 39: Moving Matters with John Payne
In this episode John Payne discusses how he began his illustrious career of over 40 years within the industry, starting at Davies Turner in Battersea, London at the tender age of 18.
John has worked in a variety of roles within several organisations during his time within the industry, including Britannia Movers International, AGS, Anglo Pacific and more recently EuroGroup. Today John has started up his own business offering consultancy services to the moving industry and has teamed up with The Red Group (probably better known as Red Recruit). John believes he can help all sizes of companies, from the single man and a van to the larger companies due to his experience.
John also offers other services, such as surveying, but will not be seen behind the wheel of a truck as he surprisingly does not have an HGV licence!
John’s biggest challenge throughout his career has been technology, it’s changed the way businesses advertise, market themselves, and more importantly the way we interfa…
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Jan 27, 2022
Episode 38: Moving Matters with Rachel Houghton of Business Moves Group
In this episode Rachel Houghton, Managing Director of Business Moves Group discusses how she began her career in the industry joining BMG in 1998 as the telesales girl in the Birmingham branch.
Business Moves Group (BMG) not only move businesses they also do the technical distribution, consisting of; installing and decommissioning ATM machines, installing medical equipment into hospitals and gaming machines into bookmakers. BMG employ approximately 200, run a fleet of 63 commercial vehicles (with another couple on order), and currently operate 6 branches covering the whole of the UK.
Rachel states that the commercial relocation world is evolving with different needs, such as space planning and change management, but the last 2 years has been challenging for all, and not just due to Covid.
Apart from the banking crisis, Brexit and Covid, Rachel hasn’t faced that many challenges, but being a young woman in the male industry was different, which we discuss in more detail.
Due to Rachel…
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Jan 13, 2022
Episode 37: Moving Matters with Damien Pahulu of Frontier Packers
In this episode Damien Pahulu of Frontier Packers discusses how he began in the industry after relocating from New Zealand to Australia in 1999, starting as an offsider (porter), and then a driver and now is a contractor for a large moving company in Brisbane, Australia.
As a contractor Damien is purely operations based and does international, domestic and government moves, where he and his team pack and load containers which are sent on rail or B-double trucks. Damien’s company, Frontier Packers, run a single truck and a Ute, with a crew of three.
Damien’s challenges were discovering that he wasn’t really cut out for managing large groups of people, even though he kept trying, but also his initiative into training videos was not well received by the global company he worked for at the time, so he made his own and released them on YouTube (link below).
The one thing Damien would like to change from his moving past is to have backed himself into going out on his own a lot sooner.…
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Dec 23, 2021
Episode 36: Moving Matters - A Funny Moving Story Special
In this special episode of Moving Matters we have 18 funny moving stories to re-share from the early episodes of the Podcast.
Featuring in this episode are;
Nigel Shaw of Specialised Movers
Anthony Groves of D.C. Groves & Son
Geoff Archer of P.W. Archer & Son
Paul Bullock of PHS Teacrate
Ian Studd Director General of BAR
Ian Palmer of White & Co PLC
Greg Wildman of Basil Fry & Co
Tommy McNee of Guardian Moving & Storage
Calvin Tickner of The EuroGroup
Ciaran Mullarkey of George Pickersgill & Sons
Dan Braddock of GB Liners,
Tony Tickner of The EuroGroup
Rober Bartup of GB Liners
Rob Horrobin of John Lomas Removals
Danny Pollard of Pollards Moving & Storage
Richard Webster of Tonks Removals
David Trenchard of Britannia Leatherbarrows
and we end with John Burridge of Richardson Moving & Storage.
Enjoy!
Special Guests: Anthony & Karen Groves, Calvin Tickner, Ciaran Mullarkey, Daniel Braddock, Danny Pollard, David Trenchard, Geoff Archer, Greg Wildman, Ian Palmer, Ian Studd, John Burridge,…
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Dec 9, 2021
Episode 35: Moving Matters with Alan Bennett of Britannia Bennetts of Malvern
In this episode Alan Bennett, Director of Britannia Bennetts of Malvern discusses how he began in the industry some 40 years ago at the tender age of 16, for Ernest Batty Ltd (a 5 vehicle BAR member) where he remained until the company went into liquidation in 1985.
We discover that Bennetts of Malvern Limited (prior to Britannia Bennetts of Malvern) started on 27th March, 1987 and today is ran by Alan and his wife of 24 years Judith where they operate 4 HGV’s, 4 low-loaders (2 of which are from the van-hire side of the business), 8 removal staff, 4 office staff and a 20,000 sqft warehouse (on a 2 acre site), where half houses 350 containers and the rest is 130 Self-Storage units, with a further 130 Self-Storage units being fitted in the new year.
We discuss what the deciding factor was with Alan joining Britannia Movers International, which Alan points out is a co-operative and not a franchise that everyone seems to think it is (including me).
We discover Alan’s challenges, the ho…
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Nov 25, 2021
Episode 34: Moving Matters with Warren Leggett of Warren's Removals and Storage
In this episode Warren Leggett, Director of Warren’s Removals & Storage discusses how he began in the industry only 7 years ago, in 2014 to be precise, working at the weekends and hiring vans due to not owning his own. But at the end of 2015 Warren made the leap to go alone and leave his secure full-time employment (as a medical supplies delivery driver).
We discover that today Warren’s Removals & Storage have 8 x 3.5-tonne vans, have just taken delivery of their first 18-tonne truck, have 3 storage locations housing a total of 105 wooden storage containers and 107 shipping containers, and employ 19 staff (15 removals and 4 office).
We discuss that Warren also has Warren’s Elite, which offers ‘elite’ services to professional people who simply do not have the time to be involved in the moving process, therefore, Warren’s Elite will unpack, replicate the positioning of the items from the old property to the new, put-up pictures, blinds, curtains and even TV wall brackets!
We…
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Nov 11, 2021
Episode 33: Moving Matters with Chris Magee of CrissCross Removals
In this episode Chris Magee, Managing Director of CrissCross Removals & Storage of Belfast discusses how he began as a man and van 5 years ago (buying and selling furniture from Gumtree and Facebook), before branching into Removals & Storage in mid-2019, citing that he wanted to compete on service rather than just price.
We discover that today CrissCross Removals & Storage primarily undertake domestic household removals, house clearances, packing services, man and van services and provide storage.
We discuss challenges, where Chris states that they are daily and never ending as the industry is very time sensitive, but Chris’s biggest challenge was lack of preparation in 2019 when his one and only van broke down, taking 4 weeks to get a replacement part!
We discover that the changes Chris would make from his past would be to start by building a great team rather than building everything yourself, and to let go of his ego early in business.
We discuss Chris’s highpoint, and it is the…
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Oct 28, 2021
Episode 32: Moving Matters with Paul Tracey of Squab Removals & Storage
In this episode Paul Tracey, Managing Director of Squab Removals & Storage discusses how he began in the industry some 29 years ago, as a trainee manager for Pickfords, and at the time thinking he was joining a travel company!
We discover that the Pickfords management training scheme was a 3-year program and you learned everything to do with removals, from sweeping the yard, making the tea, answering the telephone and you spent a period of time doing removals, writing reports and making suggestions based upon your experiences.
We discuss that Paul has recently become a part owner of Squab Removals & Storage which is based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Squab Removals & Storage are BAR members, hold 2 of the quality standards (BSEN12522 & BSEN14873), operate 9 vehicles, have a modern warehouse housing 900 containers, and are seen as the professional choice within the area they work in.
We discover that Paul is a strong believer in standards and has been involved in QSS (Quality Servic…
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Oct 14, 2021
Episode 31: Moving Matters with Miranda Hyder of BAR Services
In this episode Miranda Hyder, General Manager of BAR Services discusses how she started working within the industry for BAR Services some 34 years ago, part time for Tony Allen to begin with before progressing to full time around 1994.
We discover that BAR Services is a trading arm of BAR (British Association of Removers) and was setup in 1977 to be a bulk purchasing organisation after a successful study tour of America. Today BAR Services sell to BAR members, non-members, has branched out to supply the self-storage industry and more recently directly to the general public, via its website. BAR Services was and still remains a ‘not for profit’ organisation, where profits are shared amongst its BAR member customers.
We discuss why the price of cardboard has risen so much in recent times, and Miranda warns us that it’s about to rise once again!
We discover that the cost of plastic has also risen, albeit not as often but sadly in larger percentages, however, it is Miranda’s strat…
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Sep 23, 2021
Episode 30: Moving Matters with Mike Andrews of Britannia Bradshaw Internatinal Removals & Storage
In this episode Mike Andrews, Managing Director of Britannia Bradshaw International Removals & Storage discusses how he began in the industry in 1995 after leaving university where his friend James invited him down to London for a few weeks to do some portering for Britannia Leatherbarrows which consequently led to David Trenchard offering Mike management training.
We discover that Britannia Bradshaw International Removals & Storage is two companies, one being based in Leicester (which Mike is involved in with Mark Herrington), and the other John Bradshaw & Son which owns and runs businesses in Manchester, Birmingham, and Stafford. Both companies run under the Britannia banner and offer domestic removals & storage, including international shipping. They also operate BCL Moving, which is more bespoke commercial moving services, and own a shredding plant in Leicester, and are belatedly getting involved in Self-Storage. And I am happy to discover that BCL Moving still run their pink liver…
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Sep 9, 2021
Episode 29: Moving Matters with John Burridge of Richardson Moving and Storage
In this episode, John Burridge, Managing Director of Richardson Moving and Storage discusses how he started in the industry 41 years ago with the same business.
We discover that Richardson Moving and Storage was bought by John’s father who started in the industry as a clerk at Pickfords in Newcastle. In 1963 John’s father (together with his brother Morris) brought a bankrupt company called Richardson, and within 10 years they had bought a mill which they turned into a 55,000 sqft warehouse and ran 30 trucks (some of the first drawbars), but after the unexpectedly sudden death of Morris, John’s father decided to sell the assets, ‘mothballed’ the company name and retired. In 1980, when John was 18, he and his father bought an old van and brought the Richardson name back to life.
We discuss that today Richardson Moving and Storage is owned by John and one of his son’s Josh, who joined the company 5 years ago. They have their own 25,000 sqft freehold warehouse on their own site…
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Aug 26, 2021
Episode 28: Moving Matters with Ed Davis of Davis & Mac
In this episode, Ed Davis, Director of Davis & Mac discusses how he became involved in the industry after helping an old friend who ran a successful hourly rated man and van business but was snowed under with work. It was suggested to Ed that he get a van to take on the excess work, so after pitching the idea to Dan Mac (who Ed had previously worked with in a recording studio) and the industry having such a low cost of entry, Davis & Mac was born in 2013.
We discover that Davis & Mac are a London based removals and storage company, running 5 luton vans, and they mainly provide house pack and moves, storage and interior installations, all local as the guys are not keen on overnights.
We discuss Ed’s lightbulb moment when he was involved in moving a crated chandelier for an interior designer from a storage facility to a super mansion in Virginia Water and discovering just how broad the pricing structure is within the industry.
We discover Ed’s story behind the multi coloured fleet of…
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Aug 12, 2021
Episode 27: Moving Matters with Georgina Berry of Richard Healey Removals
In this episode Georgina Berry of Richard Healey Removals discusses that after finishing her financial services exams where she was to become a financial advisor, she joined the family business on a temporary 6 months basis – that was in 1999 and she is still there to this very day!
We discover that Richard Healey Removals was started by her father (Richard) in 1965, who was a painter and decorator working in London, returning home at weekends, but soon discovered he was making more money transporting goods back and forth in his van, and thus the foray into removals began!
We discuss that today, Richard Healey Removals provide predominantly domestic and commercial removals, some European & International moves, storage in a 120,000sqft warehouse and shredding, running 15 vehicles, employing approximately 32 staff and house just over 1,000 storage containers. And all of this is now managed by brother Richard, Georgina herself, and Barry (Operations Manager)!
We discover Richard Healey…
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Jul 22, 2021
Episode 26: Moving Matters with Mason Heasley of Extra Mile Movers
In this episode Mason Heasley, Managing Director of Extra Mile Movers discusses how he started in the industry at the tender age of 18, which was only 4 years ago, after discovering his friends were earning more money than he was as a window fitter at the time, so he joined a local removal company and his passion for the industry just grew from there.
We discover that during that time Mason lost his way a little and joined the military, but while in the military he setup Extra Mile Movers to bring in some extra income, just as the pandemic started, which turned out to be such a busy time for Extra Mile Movers that Mason left the military, and the other business partners (3 of them) left their jobs to concentrate fulltime on Extra Mile Movers.
We discuss that the company name of Extra Mile Movers is down the work ethic Mason and his partners provide as they are always looking to do that extra mile for their customers during one of the most stressful times in life.
We discover that Mason…
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Jul 8, 2021
Episode 25: Moving Matters with Paul Fox of Fox Group (Moving & Storage) Ltd
In this episode Paul Fox, Managing Director of Fox Group (Moving & Storage) Ltd discusses that his father Roy (formerly a Pickfords man) started the company in 1971 (and this year celebrate their 50th year anniversary) when he had an opportunity to purchase a small valley’s company.
We discover that after 8/9 years Paul’s father had built the company into Fox The Mover building a couple of warehouses along the way. Paul joined the company working weekends and school holidays to fund his motorcycle habit and started fulltime at the age of 16, starting as a porter and in the garage, and at the young age of 18 through the RTITB (Road Transport Industry Training Board) gained his HGV licence. Before turning 20 Paul was shipped off to run the Cardiff branch (William Flay Removals) under the guidance of Stuart Fitton.
We discuss that when Roy took on the BAR Presidency in 1984, Paul (aged 23) was transferred to run the head office in Cwmbran, which consisted approximately of 8 trucks on…
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Jun 24, 2021
Episode 24: Moving Matters with David Trenchard of Britannia Leatherbarrows
In this episode David Trenchard, Chairman of Britannia Leatherbarrows discusses that he may have been born in a tea chest in 1946! David joined the Trenchard’s family business when he was 16, which was started by his grandfather.
We discover that today’s company is Leatherbarrows (Britannia Leatherbarrows to be exact), which David and wife Diane bought from Aubrey Appleton in 1981 and was based in Hounslow, West London. David and Diane took the business into Pelican, but after some of the big players had decided to leave David was faced with either recruiting new Pelican members or offering themselves as a group to Britannia, which they did in 1987. In 1988 David was able to buy part of the family business, Trenchards, and took over Sketchley’s which virtually doubled the size of his business.
We discuss that David’s challenges were having no money at all when he and Diane bought Leatherbarrows, and 6 months after acquiring the business David was awarded a contract from a local…
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Jun 10, 2021
Episode 23: Moving Matters with Mark Chudley of Chudley Moving & Shipping
In this episode Mark Chudley, Director of Chudley Moving & Shipping discusses how he started in the industry some 44 years ago (1977), when he met a girl at 17 whose father was Derek Blatchford of Blatchpack of Exeter.
We discover that after 18 months full time in Exeter, Mark was sent to Stockport for 4 weeks to manage John Bradshaw, which was jointly owned by Derek Blatchford and Burt Waddington. However, 4 weeks turned into 4 years and Mark returned to the Exeter depot after John Bradshaw was sold to Malcolm Halley, before moving to the Bristol depot for a couple of years.
We discuss that in Mark’s latter years of his time at Blatchpack Bristol, he got quite heavily involved in antique shipping to the States. Upon leaving Blatchpack in 1988, Mark started antique shipping for Mike Bell (based in Chicago), which he did for 6 years. In 1994 he expanded into antique shipping for others, and although Mark did not want to do removals, however a change in the antique marketplace (with 91…
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May 27, 2021
Episode 22: Moving Matters with Mark Ratcliffe of Mark Ratcliffe Moving & Self Store
In this episode Mark Ratcliffe, Director of Mark Ratcliffe Moving and Self Store discusses how he started in the industry after relocating from Nelson, Lancashire to Eastbourne, East Sussex in 1982, where after collecting scrap metal and clearing rubbish in an old truck he saw an advert in the local newspaper and got a job as a removal man at Edwins of Eastbourne, where he learnt his craft, from Bernie.
Today, Mark owns Mark Ratcliffe Moving & Self Store which has been trading for 6 years now, but Mark is probably more well known for his previous companies, The Small Moving Company and more so A1 Worldwide Movers which he sold in 2006.
We discover that Mark has recently opened a Self-Storage facility (2 warehouses opposite each other) and finds this a better storage solution than containerised, which he was heavily involved with back in the mid 90’s, as Mark feels furniture should be stored in carpeted (very popular in Scandinavian countries) and temperature controlled rooms.
We disc…
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May 13, 2021
Episode 21: Moving Matters with Richard Webster of Tonks Removals
In this episode Richard Webster, Director of Tonks Removals, discusses how he became involved in the industry some 30 years ago, as a porter on the trucks straight after leaving school at the tender age of 15!
We discover that Tonks Removals was formed by the Tonks family in Scarborough back in 1820 and today celebrates its 201st year in business. Tonks Removals was put up for sale in 1995 by then owner Nigel Tonks, and Richard (20) together with his brother James (22) purchased the business for the princely sum of £8,000, with the assets consisting of a Bedford truck, the goodwill, the equipment, and the storage, which had to be relocated from its existing old school depository.
We discuss that there are no set roles within Tonks Removals for Richard or James, however James is more on the trucks while Richard is more office based, but they both like to get away on jobs when they can.
We discover that the challenges Richard has had to overcome were the lack of money, as the industry i…
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Apr 22, 2021
Episode 20: Moving Matters with Sarah Cole of Universal Commercial Relocation
In this episode Sarah Cole, Managing Director of Universal Commercial Relocation, discusses how she became involved in the industry only 20 years ago (next year) after leaving her role as a commercial property specialist within the legal profession to start a family.
We discover that Universal was formed in 1978 by Sarah’s father (William), and is a 2nd generation commercial moving specialist based in Greenford, Greater London, servicing mainly the London area, with a fulltime staff of approximately 25 and running a fleet of 8 vehicles. We also discover that Sarah is Managing Director of ISS (Information Storage Solutions), the document archiving side of the business which was started by Sarah’s mother (Margaret) in 1986.
We discuss that while archive is going more digital Sarah still maintains there is a large requirement for the physical storage side of things.
We discover that Sarah has very much enjoyed working in what is predominantly a male dominated industry and has never fo…
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Apr 8, 2021
Episode 19: Moving Matters with Courtenay Morison of Clockwork Removals & Storage
In this episode, Courtenay Morison, Director of Clockwork Removals & Storage, discusses how he started in the industry back in 1994/5 after he was asked to move a wardrobe for a friend across town (which he did with a friend for the princely sum of £20), using one of his long wheelbase vans from his Caller Keg business, where he delivered kegs of beer for weddings, parties, etc., but as this was mainly work on Friday’s and weekends the vans had nothing to do during the week. So having moved the wardrobe Clockwork Removals & Storage was born, in Edinburgh with a Luton van and a 7.5 tonne truck, operating originally from Aardvark Self Storage.
We discover that Clockwork Removals & Storage have an annual turnover of £11/12m and run 4/5 branches in Scotland and a further 4/5 in England, including the well-known brand of Edwards Trade Storage which runs out of Gloucestershire and services the London storage market. Clockwork employs approximately 130 full time staff and run 100 vehicles…
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Mar 25, 2021
Episode 18: Moving Matters with Melissa Campbell of McGimpsey Brothers (Removals) Ltd
In this episode, Melissa Campbell, Managing Director of McGimpsey Brothers (Removals) Ltd, discusses how she got started in the removals industry, by purchasing the family business at the tender age of 26!
We discover Melissa never really had any involvement within the business beforehand, as she studied accountancy at university before joining KPMG in the audit department, where she studied for her charted accountancy exams at the same time! Then in 2018 her career took a U-turn and she ‘stumbled’ across the removals industry.
We discuss that Melissa, daughter of Campbell McGimpsey, knew that McGimpsey’s were planning for succession as her father and Uncles were looking to retire in the coming years, and during her fiancé’s (Steven) birthday dinner they decided together that they would make an offer to buy the company, which she made initially by text that evening!
We discover that McGimpsey’s was formed in 1983, started by Brothers Peter and Campbell, selling fish and vege…
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Mar 11, 2021
Episode 17: Moving Matters with Danny Pollard of Pollards Moving & Storage
In this episode, Danny Pollard, Managing Director of Pollards Moving & Storage, discusses how he started in the industry some 20 years ago, working for a friend who’s business sadly went bust.
We discover after this Danny wrote a business plan and received a small loan from his parents, which he used to acquire the assets and formed Pollards Moving & Storage, some 16 years ago, and has since acquired Wades Removals in 2009/10, but primarily trade under the Pollards brand.
We discuss that Pollards Moving & Storage predominantly offer domestic home moving services but aim at the higher end of the market. They have a 10,000 sqft containerised storage facility and offer Commercial relocation and European & International albeit on a smaller scale.
We discover that for over 10 years Danny has collaborated with local charities on a ‘Gift Box’ scheme and explains that for those moving, Pollards provides the customer with boxes into which the customer packs their unwanted items, where the…
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Feb 25, 2021
Episode 16: Moving Matters with Rob Horrobin of John Lomas Removals
In this episode, Rob Horrobin, Managing Director of John Lomas Removals, discusses how he started in the industry some 22 years ago at the tender age of 14, where he began as porter during his school holidays.
We discover that after a few years of portering Rob became involved in the Sales and Operations side of the business, and that in 2006 John Lomas Removals was brought by Clockwork where Rob became the fulltime Sales Estimator having just completed his Business Studies degree, and soon after became Operations Manager and subsequently Branch Manager.
We discuss how during the recession Rob was told that Clockwork were looking to close down the branch and run everything from their Sheffield location, but that got Rob thinking, and in 2011 together with his father they took over ownership of John Lomas Removals.
We discover that John Lomas Removals are a Bishop’s Move franchise, and Rob explains that Bishop’s bring policy and procedural knowledge, provide access to European and I…
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Feb 11, 2021
Episode 15: Moving Matters with Steve Jordan of The Mover Magazine
In this episode, Steve Jordan, Editor of The Mover Magazine, discusses how he began in the industry some 47 years ago with ScotPac as a Shipping Clerk, before leaving 6 months later to form Avalon Overseas with Glyn Thomas & Jimmy Hannah, which they then sold in 1989 to Paul Evans of TransEuro.
We discover that The Movers Trading Club, as mentioned in Episode 13 by Tony Tickner of The Eurogroup, was started in 1989/90 due to ‘bolshy’ Steve’s involvement within the BAR Overseas Group Council and in those days the Freight Negotiation Committee.
We discuss why Steve wanted to get out of the industry in around 1992, to do something different, and started his own copywriting business, from his shed, before expanding to start The Words Workshop with his brother David and becoming the Editor of the BAR’s Removals & Storage Magazine from 2005 to 2011.
We discover that Steve ‘absolutely adored’ being the Editor of R&S, but after a difficult relationship with the then BAR Director Ge…
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Jan 28, 2021
Episode 14: Moving Matters with Robert Bartup of GB Liners
In this episode, Robert Bartup, Managing Director of GB Liners, discusses how he is now in his 46th year in the industry after completing a Business Studies Degree at Leicester in 1975, and that he’s only ever worked for the illustrious GB Liners.
We discover that Robert is the progeny of another man who was in the removal industry, who’s father was also in the removal industry, making him not a 3rd generation removal man but a 3rd generation removal director.
We discover that GB Liners was formed by Robert’s Grandfather in Brighton back in 1923, and today GB Liners consists of 11 branches using the GB Liners brand and has approximately 100 vehicles and employs 250-300 staff across the group, which also includes 2 Self Storage businesses, Clark & Rose with 3 branches in Scotland, and surprisingly Unique Van Bodies, who build trucks for the removal industry. We also discover that Robert concentrates on doing the job right and being the most expensive mover in town, rather than doi…
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Jan 14, 2021
Episode 13: Moving Matters with Tony Tickner of The Eurogroup
In this episode, Tony Tickner, Managing Director of The Eurogroup, discusses how he began in the industry some 32 years ago, forming the company with a friend from quite a large freight forwarding company.
We discover that Tony started with general cargo before realising there was very little money to be made, and switching to become a destination agent, handling household goods for the likes of Four Winds Middle East.
We discover The Eurogroup operate from 3 depots, with an additional 2 that are purely storage only, running approximately 40 vehicles, employ 44 staff, and that they do not provide domestic or commercial moves, they purely do household moves to and from Europe and Internationally.
We discuss Tony’s challenges, his biggest personal one being his dyslexia, while his biggest commercial challenge was being recognised within the industry for their corporate accounts, and discuss how Tony changed the tariff structure for unloading deepsea containers.
We discover that Tony wo…
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Dec 24, 2020
Episode 12: Moving Matters with Chris Smallwood of Britannia Anchor Removals
In this episode, Chris Smallwood, Director of Britannia Anchor Removals of Salford, Greater Manchester, discusses how he first began in the industry in 1990 with Whitby Oliver, where he was snapped up by Charles Oliver after Charles had heard he was being made redundant from his garage receptionist role.
We discover that Chris served 2 stints at Whitby Oliver’s, first serving as porter, packer, driver and then surveyor. Chris left in 1994 to work at Devereux in Cleveland, but returned to Whitby Oliver in 97/98 as joint Manager, eventually taking over as Manager.
We discus how Anchor Removals came about, which was originally started by ex-sailor Roy Featherston in 1992. Roy took the company into the BAR and as Roy and Chris became good friends within the industry Roy came to him when he decided to retire, and so in 2008 Chris became the new owner and thus Director, taking it into Britannia and increasing its turnover from £125k then to £600k today.
We discover that Chris has had to…
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Dec 10, 2020
Episode 11: Moving Matters with the BAR Young Movers Group Council - Part 2 of 2
Episode 11 is part 2 of a 2 part recording with the BAR Young Movers Group Council, which consists of Chairman Ciaran Mullarkey of George Pickersgills & Son, Deputy Chairman Mairead Almandras of Britannia Sanderstead's, Immediate Past Chairman Daniel Braddock of GB Liners and fellow councillors, Michael Dunbar of McGimpsey's, Alexandra Lane of Britannia Lanes, Tommy McNee of Guardian Moving & Storage and Calvin Tickner of The Eurogroup.
We discover what one thing my guests would change as a whole within the moving industry, with Michael discussing the general outside perspective for a trade in which he believes is a skilled trade (and I totally agree!), Mairead has a real dig at solicitors over exchange and completion dates, Tommy agrees with Mairead and provides an example on how it can effect the Working Time Directive as he believes the moving industry is always an afterthought, Alexandra covers the service being offered over the race to the bottom line and also agrees with Mairead,…
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Nov 26, 2020
Episode 10: Moving Matters with the BAR Young Movers Group Council - Part 1 of 2
Episode 10 is part 1 of a 2 part recording with the BAR Young Movers Group Council, which consists of Chairman Ciaran Mullarkey, Deputy Chairman Mairead Almandras, Immediate Past Chairman Daniel Braddock and fellow councillors, Michael Dunbar, Alexandra Lane, Tommy McNee and Calvin Tickner.
We discover that Michael is 33 and works for McGimpsey’s in Belfast, Mairead is 29 and works for Britannia Sanderstead’s in Surrey, Tommy is 33 and works for Guardian Moving & Storage in Edinburgh, Alexandra (the baby of the group) is 22 and works for Britannia Lanes in Devon, Calvin is 28 and works for The Eurogroup, Ciaran is 38 (and not 28 as I mistakenly wrote down!), and works for George Pickersgill & Son and Daniel is 32 and works for GB Liners.
We discuss the BAR Young Movers Group as a whole and discover from Ciaran that the group networks and socialises together, and have previously sold out 3 educational events, held at remover locations in Birmingham, Cardiff and Brighton, with Belfas…
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Nov 12, 2020
Episode 9: Moving Matters with Greg Wildman of Basil Fry & Company
In this episode, Greg Wildman, Managing Director of Basil Fry & Company, discusses, in quite some length, how he began in the industry in 2001, although he started in the world of work at the age of 13 as a paperboy.
After a stint at university, and travelling the United States of America teaching tennis, we discover that Greg returned to a company he used to work for as a Saturday boy during his college days, Russell & Bromley, where he then set about making a successful career for himself, but soon began to realise that the opportunity to climb to the top the career ladder would be limited as Russell & Bromley was and still is a family owned company.
In 2001 Greg was headhunted by his brother, Philip Wildman, and offered an opportunity to join his brother at Basil Fry & Company, which he duly accepted, and in 2004 Greg spearheaded the recruitment side of the business, adding the likes of Ria Houston, Peter Doman and Adam Kellaway over the years to name a few.
We discover that Basil…
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Oct 22, 2020
Episode 8: Moving Matters with Ian Palmer of White & Co. PLC
In this episode, Ian Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of White & Co. PLC, discusses how he began in the industry some 43 years ago, starting at White & Co. in Plymouth which was ran by his father at the time.
We discover that Ian wanted to become a Geography Teacher, before trying to get into the Royal Navy as a Navigation Officer, but life on the vans soon took over and Ian became a second-generation remover, with his son Adam since becoming third-generation.
We discover that Ian is a really good packer, being both quick and efficient and how management training from White & Co. lead him to becoming an Estimator, Assistant Branch Manager at Forres in Scotland before returning to Plymouth to a become a Branch Manager himself.
We discuss that being made a Director of White & Co. at the mere age of 35 Ian relocated to Hertfordshire to run a newly opened branch in North London, while also managing branches in Jersey & Guernsey. And how in 2003 Ian moved to Head Office in Botley, Southampto…
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Oct 8, 2020
Episode 7: Moving Matters with Retired Remover David Bunting
In this episode, retired remover, David Bunting, a true gentleman of the moving industry, discusses how he began his illustrious 60 year career within the transportation industry, the last 40 being in the moving industry.
We begin at Pickfords Heavy Haulage, where David started as Traffic Clark in Preston, taking every opportunity to use vehicles for back loading purposes to reduce dead time, albeit by pony express at the time!
At the young age of 20/21, David had progressed to Traffic Manager, and further promotions led David to the branches of Liverpool, Newcastle, Derby and Sheffield.
After 20 years David left Pickfords Heavy Haulage and joined a local heavy haulage and crane company back in Preston, but due to a lack of progression David applied for the role of Depo Manager at Giltspur Bullens Transport Services and joined in 1983.
When Giltspur Bullens were acquired by Pickfords, David left and took on the role to develop the office and commercial division of a company in Preston,…
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Sep 24, 2020
Episode 6: Moving Matters with Ian Studd of the British Association of Removers
In this episode, Ian Studd discusses how he began his lifelong career in the industry 49 years ago, assisting his father from the age of 13 in the family business, GTS Light Haulage & Removals.
We discover how a successful blind date in the early 80’s, led Ian to relocate to Norfolk, where he applied for a job with Abels and joined them as a driver.
We discuss how in Ian’s later years with Abels he became responsible for the output of the office and commercial moving, and how in the mid 90’s a takeover by Hays PLC seemingly made progression within the company less accessible.
We discover how in January 97, Ian joined Harrow Green, which was Ian’s biggest culture shock he has ever had in his entire life! Ian’s career with Harrow Green was incredibly successful and rewarding, starting as Sales Executive, becoming Sales Manager in 2002, heading up Exclusive Group which Harrow Green acquired, to joining the board of directors in 2006.
When asked what Ian would change from his mo…
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Sep 10, 2020
Episode 5: Moving Matters with Paul Bullock of PHS Teacrate
In this episode, Mr Crate Hire himself, Paul Bullock of PHS Teacrate, discusses how he began in the industry over 40 years ago, in 1977.
He also discusses how he may be responsible for the start of the dreaded man and van removals, after loosing his first job as a car salesman.
Paul discusses how Crates International, started by his father and a business contact, were bought by Rentacrate and closed down, and how Paul went on to run GB Crate Hire for Giltspur Bullens, which was eventually snapped up by Pickfords. He then started Quick Crates with a parent company OCS, where eventually Rentacrate and Quick Crates were bought by Teacrate, which is where Paul works today as Key Account Manager.
We discuss how technology, especially barcoding, has made a huge difference to the Crate Rental industry.
Paul discusses how the one thing he would change in the moving industry is perception, something I personally wholeheartedly agree with.
Outside of the industry we discover that Paul is not an…
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Aug 27, 2020
Episode 4: Moving Matters with Geoff Archer of P.W. Archer & Son
In this episode, fourth generation removal man, Geoff Archer, discusses how, even though P.W. Archer & Son is a family firm, he had to go and get a job before returning with his worldly experience of work.
We discuss how P.W. Archer & Son was started by Percy William Archer and his brother Horace in May 1920, where they drove to Darlington to buy ice, which they then sold back in Northallerton to butchers, ice cream parlours and anyone else that wanted ice. And how centenary celebrations have sadly been put on hold due to the current pandemic.
We discuss challenges from the past, one being during the time of his forefathers, the Second World War, and how he couldn’t imagine that someone could come walking through the door and cut the company by two thirds due to nationalisation! And the biggest challenge in his living memory was Black Wednesday in the 90’s.
Geoff controversially talks about how he would change the moving industry by bringing in tachographs and O-licences for anythi…
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Aug 13, 2020
Episode 3: Moving Matters with Anthony & Karen Groves of D.C. Groves & Son
In our third episode, my first husband and wife duo Anthony & Karen Groves discuss how Anthony took over the business, D.C. Groves & Son, at the mere age of 24, as a second generation removal man, after his father sadly past away at the age of 64, while on a removal with Anthony.
We discuss how Covid procedures put in place are limiting the number of moves at the moment to 2-3 a day rather than 4-5 with hired assistance, as they look to keep themselves, their staff and their customers safe.
We also discover that their low point from the past would be the purchase of Turks of Lydd from their friend Andrew in March 2008, where due to bad advice and the biggest collapse of world banks later that year the newly acquired company was forced into liquidated less than 12 months from purchase.
We learn about Anthony’s Director role within QSS, Quality Service Standards, and discover just how much Anthony loves standards, and how later in life he would like to become an auditor himself - you h…
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Jul 23, 2020
Episode 2: Moving Matters with Nigel Shaw of Specialised Movers
In our second episode Nigel Shaw discusses how he began working life by completing his apprenticeship as an Engineer, and how a £300 loan from his Mother in 1982 (which I hope he’s since repaid!) helped him purchase a Bedford TK and start his illustrious career in the Moving Industry, starting Shaw & Simpson Removals with mate Paul Simpson. Today, he and wife Carole run Specialised Movers, turning over nearly £3 million a year!
We discuss how a real low point in his career, a fatality in the workplace in 2004, gave him the strength and fight to turn Specialised Movers into what it is today, and how one of his many high points was being awarded the contract to move the Qatar National Library.
We also cover how he became Chairman of the Commercial Moving Group of The British Association of Removers, how Specialised Movers won the Commercial Mover of The Year in 2012 and how he has a bigger trophy cabinet than West Ham due to the award of merits throughout the office!
Outside of the m…
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Jul 8, 2020
Episode 1: Moving Matters with Gary Wheadon of D. Sully & Son
In our very first episode Gary Wheadon, or 'Bert' as he's commonly known, discusses how he started in the moving industry, in fact immediately after leaving school, working for his father's company before leaving and joining D. Sully & Son as Manager, before eventually taking over ownership with his wife.
How technology and bureaucracies are some of the challenges Gary has had to overcome, together we touch on the current pandemic and how that has affected business, and, how the 1968 Transport Act completely changed the moving industry.
We also cover how an opportunity arose that became the high point of Gary's time to date within the industry, becoming President of the British Association of Removers, and how he would do it again in a heartbeat.
Outside of the moving industry we discover Gary’s passion for Golf, Dogs & Basket Weaving!
And we end the very first episode of Moving Matters with two very funny moving stories.
Enjoy!
Links to D. Sully & Son:
* Website (https://www.sullys…
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