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

Special Guest: Matt Faizey.

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 females make better surveyors.

Judith has several highpoints of being within the industry, meeting Alan is obviously the biggest, but also was joining A C Bennett Removals and turning it from sole trader into a limited company where she became a 50% shareholder, signing on the land for their current warehouse, joining Britannia Movers International and being invited onto the board, and finally, having her 2 eldest children join the family business as second generation.

Enjoy!

Links to Britannia Bennetts of Malvern:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Special Guest: Judith Bennett.

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 house purchase collapse in 1989, the 2008 financial crash, but the biggest one has been Covid.

We discuss that the one thing Alan would change from his moving past would be to have undertaken a business life coaching course from the beginning, which after 20 years he has self-taught from reading books and watching YouTube.

We discover that Alan’s highpoints of being in the industry include taking on Judith, who became Alan’s wife and business partner. Alan claims that she’s the executioner of his ideas (I may have to get Judith on to confirm or deny that claim!). Other highpoints include joining Britannia (where Alan has just been appointed to the board), joining BAR, buying his first truck, and of course seeing his staff develop.

We discuss what Alan would change within the moving industry, reducing the VAT threshold is one, and although Alan has no problems with 3.5 tonne vehicles, he would like to change the enforcement of them, and finally completion dates.

We discover that the advice Alan would give himself just starting out in the industry, apart from a business/life coaching course is to just treat people with respect.

We discuss what changes Alan sees in the next 5 years, in the industry Alan believes the days of the HGV truck is slowly and sadly fading away as we utilise low loaders more and more. Personally, Alan wants to retire at 60 and give something back to the community, for no money, maybe even provide some business life coaching.

We discover that outside of the industry Alan enjoys home life on his 5-acre sheep ranch, cycling, walking the dog on the Malvern Hills, however, he really enjoys trips in his most luxurious purchase, a Morgan sports car, bought of course with the permission of Judith.

And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding a trip to the Isle of Wight.

BONUS: Alan plays a game with me, the removal man’s slang, from when he started in the industry!

Enjoy!

Links to Britannia Bennetts of Malvern:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Special Guest: Alan Bennett.

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 liveried trucks, which were liveried in that way to promote a Breast Cancer Prevention Charity in Manchester.

We discuss challenges and Mike’s biggest was every removal man’s worst nightmare, a warehouse fire, which Mike says this is where you realise why you have insurance after such an event! And of course, Mike has the variety of daily challenges that come from dealing with people.

We discover that Mike would not change anything from his past because he cannot change them, however, Mike does learn from each making him better next time around.

We discuss Mike’s highpoint of being in the industry and it was becoming friends with the late Malcolm Halley, who not only was a great pal but a great teacher. Mike tells us that Malc was always happy, always enjoyed himself and never bore a grudge, no matter how hard things were, are or will be in business.

We discover that Mike would like the industry to celebrate more that what we provide is a really good and important service, and to have more pride in our staff, our service, and our price. We also discuss the current driver (and labour) shortage, and the use of low loaders within the industry.

We discuss that the advice Mike would give to himself just starting out in the industry is that your team is your business, and as almost all skills are learned if there is anything you cannot do either read a book or watch a video on the subject. And find yourself a mentor from within the industry.

We discover that in the next 5 years, personally as we are in strange seas at the minute Mike doesn’t know what opportunities may throw themselves up for businesses in that period but enjoys growth and changes; Industry wise, Mike says that the industry needs to keep polishing itself and setting itself apart from the man & van industry.

We discuss that outside of the industry Mike enjoys cycling, walking with the dogs and family, he’s a voracious reader, enjoys music and fly fishing.

And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story featuring a gendarme.

Enjoy!

Links to Britannia Bradshaw International Removals & Storage:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Linkedin

Special Guest: Mike Andrews.