The Equalizer

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By The Equalizer - Sat 21st Dec 2013

 

Ten years ago the UK’s Road Haulage and Removals industry were able to use their initiative and capitalise on a reasonably unique set of circumstances and carve out a very lucrative niche for themselves.

In 2004 the Spanish property boom was in full flow and TV shows such as A Place in the Sun were adding fuel to the already growing demand for British citizens to own a property in Spain.

Furthermore, the favourable sterling – Euro currency exchange rate together with the rapid increase of price in British property made Spanish property seem an attractive home for many an investor.

So removals to Spain was a growth industry – the only problem was how to cost the service competitively and to cover the cost of the empty return leg....

Fortunately, the rapid growth in the price of British properties around 2004 also coincided with an increase in popularity in DIY (thanks in part to TV’s ‘Changing Rooms’), and many saw improving their homes as an attractive a and cost-effective alternative to moving house.

Solution : The guys offering removals to Spain saw the connection and offered exports from Spain – notably ceramic tiles and bathroom suites.

So fast forward 5 years or so until the burst of the Spanish Property bubble and, to a lesser extent, the decline in property prices in the UK. Market forces now dictate that removals to Spain no longer sees the demand that it did 5 years plus ago – the opposite is seemingly true. Expats begin returning to the UK in droves. The problem is that the UK’s appetite for DIY remains intact, and the exchange rate is now even more favourable.