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No: 454 May 2012 www.bar.co.uk

This month:News rom Watord 06Industry News 07-18

- BAR gears up or sel storage battle

- Haulage industry under pressure rom uelprices

- Fuel price anger mounts- OCRS changes

- Helping to fght serious crime

- London trafc investments pay o

- A1 upgrade nears completion

- New Government support or workexperience

- Small frm confdence rises

- Scheme to boost small business lending

- Preparing or online VAT returns

- New standard or container seals- Customs modernisation in Trinidad

- Anglo Pacifc receives visa boost

- Basil Frys new website

- Crown Worldwide opens Cambodia library- Euro Group acquires APAK

- At the heart o its operations:Reddaways Removals

- Santa Fe opens in Qatar

- Pluscrates to supply Johnson BusinessMoves

- Bishops Move extends deal with ReasonGlobal

- Williams & Gosling turns 75- Matt Purdie road train goes to Hebrides

- Britannia Anchor Removals sponsor youthteam

- Anglo Pacifc launches guarantee or tradeshippers

- Harrow Green re-fts Southend civic centre

- Celebrity client or Richard Healey

- GB Liners new Swiss service

- Housing market still choppy

- Red Recruits charity cycle ride 17 May

BAR News 20-32

- The DMotY 2012 fnalists

- Display o the BAR/OFT badge- New afliate to BAR: DKV

- Area meetings roundup

- Young Movers go saari!

- Quarterly industry statistics

- BAR at the European Parliament

BAR Services 33Olympics Monitor 36Overseas Group News 39QSS Update 40Commercial Moving Group News 42

- CMG website goes live this month!

Training News 44European News 47Competition 57Diary Dates 59Memberships 60

May 2012 Removals & Storage 5

On the cover: The PHS Teacrate team at the

entrance o the Scrubs Lane ofce in London.

56

Alternative Dispute Resolution is usually by ar the cheapest

option or resolving commercial disputes, but with most

consumers belongings being worth hundreds rather than

thousands o pounds there can be an issue o proportionality o

the cost o the mechanism used specifcally, you dont want a

Mediator or Arbitrator whose daily rate will wipe out any

money that might be oered to settle the dispute.

Gregory Hunt, Managing Director IDRS Ltd and Director o CEDR Disputes Group

- Insurance claims on international shipments

- Planning or the Diamond Jubilee holiday

- PHS Teacrate: One-stop-shop packaging and

handling partner

- Getting a good deal when the consumer

wants justice

- Reg Hackworthy: Reormer bows out

- Alexanders: sustained growth since 2005

Features: 50-58

14

58 24

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BAR News

EditorialContributions on all aspects o the removals and storageindustry are welcome, together with photographs iappropriate.Please contact the Managing Editor, Louise Gale on:

Tel:020 3235 1806

Email:[email protected]

AdvertisingFor all enquiries and bookings, please contactSteve Pearce on:

Tel:0117 957 5400

Email:[email protected]

Deadlines: The booking deadline or all displayadvertisements or the June 2012 issue o R&Sis11th May.

SubscriptionsRemovals & Storage is subscribed to by members o theBritish Association o Removers in the UK and Overseas.Current annual subscription is 48.00 in the UK and72.00 overseas. Additional subscriptions are availablerom BAR (see contact details to the let).

Registered as a magazine The British Association oRemovers 2012. ISSN 0034-4265

All rights reserved. No part o this publication may be scanned,reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in part or wholein any orm or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission o theBritish Association o Removers.

Opinions expressed in Removals & Storage are not necessarily thoseo the publisher, British Association o Removers. The description o aproduct or service in this publication does not constitute endorsementby the publisher. The publisher does not accept any responsibility orany claims by advertisers. The articles in this publication are or generalinormation only and are not intended to be advice to any specifcperson. Readers are recommended to seek proessional advice beoretaking or reraining rom taking any action on the basis o the contentso any article in this publication.

The British Association o RemoversTel:01923 699 480Fax:01923 699 481Email:[email protected]

Tangent House, 62 Exchange Road, Watord,Hertordshire WD18 OTG

President: Reg Hackworthy

Director General: Stephen Vickers

Company Secretary: James Falkner

Removals & Storage is designed on behal oThe British Association o Removers by:Rubicon Marketing Ltd.Tel: 0117 957 5400Email: [email protected]

NewsFROM WATFORD

The 2012 Annual Conerence at the

Beaumont Estate in Windsor is

almost upon us, and the

proceedings on Friday 18 May will start

o bright and early at 9.15am, with the

BAR Annual General Meeting and the

AGM o the Removers Benevolent

Association. The Conerence will then be

ormally opened by the newly installed

BAR President, and a varied programme

o business sessions is provided

throughout the day, including a Q&A

session with members o the Board oDirectors, as well as the latest on the

CMotY and DMotY 2012 awards. There

will also be presentations by the

Residential Landlords Association, the

Centre or Eective Dispute Resolution,

the Department or Business, Innovation

and Skills, Transport or London, and the

National Apprenticeship Scheme. The

keynote speaker at the Conerence is

UKIP MEP, Mike Nattrass, who has some

trenchant views on the workings o the

European Parliament. The pace will be

maintained on Saturday 19 May, with a

series o conerence workshops on ways

to optimise business in challenging times,

such as eective cost modelling and

website marketing. All work and no play

would make us all very dull, o course,

and the social side is certainly not lacking

with a welcome evening on the Thursday,

party night on Friday, and popular Gala

Dinner on Saturday.

Most Members will be aware o the

Removers Benevolent Association and the

good work it does with needy people inour industry. The RBA Trustees (Derek

Payne, John Court and Matt Purdie),

regularly consider applications or

assistance, and what might best be done

to alleviate hardship and distress.

Ex-BAR President, Jonathan Hood, has

recently agreed to join the Trustee body,

where his long experience in the removals

industry will be o real value in what are

oten dicult judgements. A rafe with

high quality prizes will be held on behal

o the RBA throughout the Annual

Conerence.

Please dont orget that, the drat revised

Membership Criteria is out or

consultation, and all eedback will be

considered by the Board at their meeting

in late June. For your views to be taken

into account, you have to take part in this

consultation, so do make sure your

opinion on this important matter is made

known either at Area Meetings, to any o

the three Directly Elected Directors, or

direct to BAR headquarters.

Contact Details:

Article submission: 4th o the month preceding publication

Booking o display Adverts: 10th o the month preceding publication

Booking o classifed adverts: 10th o the month preceding publication

Booking o trade adverts: 10th o the month preceding publication

Artwork or adverts: 15th o the month preceding publication

Copy and advertising deadlines 2012 or uture issues o R&S magazine

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Industry News

7

The existing regime exempts from VATrental of self storage space. The supply ofself storage is usually exempt from VAT as

it typically relates to a discrete area of land towhich the customer has access for the purposesof storing their goods. However, storageprovided by traditional removal companies isalways standard rated for VAT purposes. Theaim of the proposed new legislation is to tax theprovision of storage facilities to the end user i.e. to a person for the storage of their goods.

The Board of BAR endorsed a policy toensure a level playing eld and will be

responding to the Government consultationaccordingly. We encourage all interestedMembers to do the same, Stephen Vickers,Director General of BAR, told R&S.

David Trenchard, Managing Director atLeatherbarrows Removals and Storage, believesthe Governments proposal has the potential tonally create a level playing eld for movers

and storers. Since his time as Vice-Chairman of

BAR External Affairs Committee, David hascarried on working on this cause together withother Committee members, including formerChairman Tony Richman, and Michael Gersonwho made representations to the Treasury onbehalf of BAR. This is really good news to anindustry that has lost a vast amount of marketshare due to this 20% price advantage over usmovers who have always had to charge VAT.David urges all Members to support BAR in itslobby work, to contact their local Members of

Parliament. You can be sure the big guns of thebig self-storage companies will be counter-lobbying and we need to explain why theexisting regime is unjust.

The HMRC consultation on draft secondarylegislation closes on 4 May. The HRMCguidance notes on the Governments plans tochange the VAT rules relating to self storage areavailable via the BAR website, www.bar.co.uk(MyBar>Resources>Consultation).

Haulageindustry underpressure rom

uel prices

Arecent report by the Freight TransportAssociation on distribution costsindicates that the high cost of fuel

remains the biggest cause for concernamongst haulage operators. Operatorscontinue to be squeezed by rising operatingcosts and pressure for earlier payment termsfrom suppliers whilst facing pressure tominimise any increases in haulage rates andlengthening payment terms from customers.

Bruce Goodhart, FTA Research Analyst,said: Fuel now represents around 40% ofannual operating costs compared to arounda third just three years ago. Whilst operatingcosts have now reached an all-time high,hauliers continue to face pressure fromcustomers not to raise their haulage rates.As a result, balance sheets remain fragileand hauliers vulnerable during this period ofweak economic activity.

The update calculates that, on average,vehicle operating costs for rigid, articulatedand drawbar vehicles have risen by 3.7% inthe year to 1 January 2012 to reach an all-time high. The largest contribution to therise came from an increase in the price ofdiesel, which has risen by 6.3% in the year

to 1 January 2012. In addition, tyre costshave risen by 9.2% and overheads by 4.0%in the same period.

In contrast, increases in haulage rates havenot matched the rise in operating costs.According to calculations in the update,domestic haulage rates have risen by anaverage of just 3.1% in the year to 1 January2012 and international haulage rates haverisen by an average of just 1.6 % in thesame period. Forty-six per cent of thecontributors to the update indicated thatthey had not increased their haulage ratessince the start of 2011.

BAR gears up or selstorage battleThe Board o BAR has considered the recent budget proposal tocharge VAT on sel storage. As readers o R&S will know, BAR has orthe past 25 years consistently raised the inconsistencies in the VATregime aecting sel storage which has created a distinctdisadvantage or removals companies who also oer storage services.

Fuel price anger mounts

Following the announcement that tankerworkers voted for strike action which isexpected to result in up to 90% of garages

being shut across the UK Alistair Bingle,Managing Director of Bishops Move, hasspoken out against the Chancellors plans toincrease fuel by 3p per litre as from August.

This is very disappointing news for theremovals industry and businesses, not tomention hard-working families who use theroads, he said. Petrol prices could well beabove 150p a litre by August when the planned3p a litre increase takes effect. With VAT

added, pump prices will rise 3.62p a litre. Thishas a signicantly negative impact on theperformances of businesses in the road haulageindustry. Given the amount of fuel thatsconsumed throughout the removals industry ona daily basis, even a small hike in price meansour costs increase signicantly. We cant

always pass on these costs to customers,so we take the hit.

Back the FairFuel Campaign!Unfortunately, the Chancellor has not yet takeninto consideration evidence from theFairFuelUK campaign that shows that even amodest cut in fuel duty of 2.5p per litre couldcreate 175,000 new jobs and would on its ownboost GDP by 0.33%.

The FairFuelUK Campaign is backed byindustry associations and road user groupssuch as BAR, the RAC, the Road Haulage

Association, the Freight Transport Association,and over 150 Parliamentarians.If you have not already joined, BAR

Members are encouraged to support thisimportant campaign. Its free and simpleto do. For more information, seewww.fairfueluk.com.

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Injury reporting change

RIDDORs over-three-day injuryreporting requirement has changed. Asof 6 April 2012, the trigger point has

increased from over three days to over sevendays incapacitation (not counting the day onwhich the accident happened).

Incapacitation means that the worker isabsent or is unable to do work that they wouldreasonably be expected to do as part of theirnormal work.

RIDDOR is the law that requires employers,and anyone else with responsibility for health

and safety within a workplace, to report and

keep records of work-related deaths; seriousinjuries; cases of diagnosed industrialdisease; and certain dangerous occurrences(near miss accidents).

Employers and others with responsibilitiesunder RIDDOR must still keep a record of allover-three day-injuries if the employer hasto keep an accident book, then this record willbe enough. The deadline by which the over-seven-day injury must be reported has alsoincreased to fteen days from the day of the

accident.

Changes to unair dismissal claim

eligibility

Backhouse Jones solicitors are advisingBAR Members that new rules that havecome into force recently will affect

unfair dismissal claims.For any employees starting new

employment on or after 6 April 2012, the

qualifying period for the right to claim unfairdismissal is two years. The right to request awritten reason for dismissal is also two years.

For employees in employment before 6April 2012 the qualifying period is unchangedat one year.

Steven Meyerhoff of Backhouse JonesSolicitors toldR&S: Companies shouldensure, when contemplating dismissingsomeone within a 2 year period (or after, forthat matter) that they use consistentprocedures and have evidence to demonstrate

that dismissal was for a non-discriminatoryand fair reason.For more information, please contactSteven Meyerhoff at Backhouse Joneson 01254 828300 or [email protected]

A1 upgrade nearscompletion

T

he 318m project to upgrade the A1between Dishforth and Leeming

reached a major milestone in Marchwhen the Highways Agency nished

work on the northbound section betweenjunctions 50 (Baldersby) and Gatenby(6.1 miles).

The Agency and its contractor havealso worked to fully open the remainingsections to trafc: northbound between

Gatenby and Junction 51 (Leeming), andthe nal section, southbound from

Junction 51 (Leeming) to Junction 50(Baldersby).

Following completion of the sectionbetween Junction 49 (Dishforth) and

Junction 50 (Baldersby) last October thiswill complete the upgrade of the A1 to amotorway.Roads Minister Mike Penning said:the completion of work along the A1between Dishforth and Leeming will bea signicant milestone in our plans to

improve one of the key transport routesin the North of England. Upgrading thissection of the A1 to a motorway willimprove safety, reduce congestion andmake journey times more reliable thiscan only be good news for road usersand the economy.

Work on the A1 Dishforth to Leemingscheme started in March 2009. Theproject involves widening 12 miles ofdual carriageway and providing a newaccess road for local trafc alongside

the upgraded A1(M) for surroundingcommunities.

Helping to fghtserious crime

SOCA, the Serious Organised Crime

Agency, has been tasked by theHome Ofce as part of the

governments organised crime strategy toproduce an assessment on the extent ofcorruption by organised criminals in thepublic and private sectors.

The project ultimately seeks to providea comprehensive overview on the threatand impact of corruption on the UK.

As this assessment will pull togetherresponses from across the public andprivate sectors, all responses will besanitised and strategically assessed tohighlight only broad themes in the nal

report. SOCA is asking BAR Membersfor their thoughts, questions or feedbackand to contribute to this assessment.

For more information, see www.bar.co.uk/trade/MyBAR/Resources/SeriousOrganisedCrimeAgency.aspx

The package will run over the next threeyears and the Government intends tobuild the scheme around employers as

only employers can offer young people the realwork experience and jobs that they need.

Any company that takes on a youngunemployed person from the GovernmentsWork Programme can now claim a wageincentive payment worth up to 2,275. Chris

Grayling, Minister for Employment, said in aletter to BAR and its Members: In many cases,this will be someones rst job, and Im

convinced that if you give them a chance todemonstrate what they can do, they will payyou back.

The Government is also asking for employersacross the country to offer short voluntary workexperience placements in their businesses,giving a young person the chance to gainvaluable skills, gain condence and improve

their CV. There will also be a simplied

approach to health and safety requirements forbusinesses participating in the package.For more information about the Youth Contract,see www.dwp.gov.uk/youth-contractor call 0845 601 2001. For more informationabout the health and safety side, see www.hse.gov.uk/aboutyou/information-simple/index.htm

New Governmentpackage o supportThe Government has launched the Youth Contract, a new package osupport worth nearly 1 billion, that aims to oer young people newopportunities to gain work experience and nd sustained work.

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London trafcinvestmentspay o

The Mayor of London andTransport for London havewelcomed progress in cutting

delays on the capitals roads thanks toa sophisticated programme of works tomake trafc signals more efcient and

adaptive to trafc ows.

TfL has been introducing innovativetechnology known as Split CycleOffset Optimisation Technique(SCOOT).

This allows trafc signals to detect

vehicles passing along a road and worktogether to amend their signal timings

on a second by second basis to adjusttrafc ows accordingly through anarea, making journeys more reliable.

Over the last two years, TfL hasbegun to increase the number ofsignals using the system from 2,000 to3,000.

Work has already begun at 861 sitesand been fully completed at 514locations.

It has helped deliver an average12.7% reduction in delays for vehiclestravelling across the network. At somelocations, this increases to almost20%.

Around 40% of the Capitals 6,000trafc signals now utilise SCOOT and

work continues at a pace to have halfof Londons trafc signals running

with the system by spring 2014.

A303 upgradesummit

Politicians from the West

Country have held a summitmeeting in London to call forupgrades to the A303.

Somerset County Council Leader,Ken Maddock, said: the A303 iscrucial to Somersets economy and isof local, regional and nationalimportance.

It has been recognised for some timenow that major work is needed inorder to deal with the huge increasesin trafc we have seen on the route

over recent years and the time is rightto take this forward.

He believes more sections of dualcarriageway will help to speed uptravelling times between the WestCountry and London and the SouthEast.

OCRS was introduced in 2006 with theaim of targeting non-compliant operatorsmore effectively as well as reducing the

number of compliant vehicles that are stopped.Operators with higher risk scores (red oramber) are more likely to be inspected thanthose with lower risk scores (green).

Although the system is generally wellrespected in the industry, followingconsultations, VOSA has decided to make someimportant adaptations to OCRS to furtherimprove its effectiveness. The changes include

ending the practice of providing a predictivescore to operators with no historic data forannual tests or roadside inspections. Instead,they will have no score and a grey eet

marking.In addition, VOSA will be moving towards a

rolling 3-year set of data to calculate the OCRSscore, up from 2 years, with the dataset startingfrom May 2009. All points will also beweighted by age, with more recent defects andoffences given more points than older ones.

Because it is not always easy to understandhow points received for a defect or offence willimpact on an operators score, VOSA is moving

the system for point allocation for trafcoffences to the same system as for mechanicaldefects, with a set number of points based uponthe seriousness of the defect or offence.

However, some events will now trigger anoperators status to red, whatever theirunderlying score. For example, a conviction

will move an operator to red for a 12 monthperiod, after which the operator will revert tothe status merited by their baseline score.

If as the result of a roadside inspection anoperator receives a Most Serious Infringement(MSI), an operators status will move to red for

six months; these infringements cover areassuch as driver hours, fraud, unsafe vehicles,dangerous goods, driving without a license,false documents and overloading.

The changes took effect from 30 April.The Freight Transport Association has been

broadly supportive of these changes. Its mainconcerns are the possible consequences of newStraight to Red offences and the six-monthperiod in which an operators entire eet would

come under intense scrutiny.Putting operators on red for six months will

cause massive disruption and delay that maywell be deserved but I cant believe it will takethis long for VOSA to pay the operator a visit tosee what is really going on, said an FTAspokesperson. If Straight to Red offences areintroduced VOSA will need to revise itsenforcement priorities or allow operators todemonstrate that the infringement was one-offand go Straight (back) to Green.

OCRS changesThe Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has recently madesome changes to its Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system

in order to better target non-compliant operators.

New standard or container seals

A

s of 1 March 2012, the currentInternational Organization forStandardization (ISO) mechanical seal

standard (ISO/PAS 17712) has been replacedwith a new ISO standard ISO 17712:2010 forhigh security seals.

ISO 17712:2010 establishes uniformprocedures for the classication, acceptance

and withdrawal of acceptance of mechanicalfreight container seals. It provides a singlesource of information on mechanical sealswhich are acceptable for securing freightcontainers in international commerce.

Seals are costly, and companies are not

expected to discard seals currently in stock.However, after companies have exhaustedtheir current stock of high security seals, it is

recommended that they purchase seals whichare compliant with the new ISO 17712:2010standard.

The purpose of mechanical seals is, as partof a security system, to determine whether afreight container has been tampered with, i.e.whether there has been unauthorized entryinto the container through its doors. Seals canbe effective only if seal users properly select,store, account for, apply, document and attendto seals prior to use and in use.

Do you have any news to sharewith R&S readers?

Send to: [email protected]

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Anglo Pacifc receives visa boost

I

n January this year, enquiries forinternational removals company AngloPacic were up 45% on the equivalent

period in 2011. When isolating the gures forAustralia alone, this shot up to 60%.

New legislation that will come into force asfrom 1 July 2012 to make it tougher to obtainpermanent residency in Australia is believedto be responsible for this surge in interest.

Jason Diggs, Sales Director for AngloPacic, explains, whilst January always

sparks a peak in trafc as the British public

wallows in winter and post-Christmas blues,2012 has been particularly unusual. TheAustralian dollar hasnt weakened, the Britishhousing market hasnt strengthened and weveseen no mass advertising campaigns or

migration events backed by the AustralianGovernment. All ngers seem to pointtherefore at the biggest change to Australiasskilled migration programme since the points

test was introduced 33 years ago: SkillSelect.From 1 July, applicants will face an

invitation-only visa system with no guarantee

of permanent residency.And, its not just removals enquiries that

were up in January; job registrations via theAnglo Pacic jobseeker service were up by

60% year-on-year.

Small businesses are looking to take onnew workers in the coming months ascondence picks up after a quarter of

shedding staff.New gures from the Federation of Small

Businesses (FSB) show a net balance of 8.1%of small rms laid off staff in the 3 months toFebruary the highest gure since the survey

began, in some cases partly due to rises inwages eating into 28.2% of rms margins.

However, as business condence in the

economy has grown, many small rms

anticipate a slight increase in sales in thecoming months. And nearly a third (27.4%) ofsmall businesses want to increase theirinvestment plans which will also help to createnew jobs a net balance of 1.2% of small rms

is looking to take on new workers in the next 3months, the highest level since Q2 2010.

Overall the index, which surveyed more than3,000 FSB members, shows condence rising

for the rst time in a year, with more than half

of those surveyed aiming to grow in the 12

months ahead.The survey shows considerable optimism

about the scope for businesses expansion witha third of rms looking to increase capital

investment plans. Fuel was identied by more

than 60% of rms as a major cost driver, with

upward cost pressures being seen from rent andlabour costs too.

More than 1 in 5 rms cites access to nance

as a major barrier to growth, with 41% of loanapplicants being refused.

Small frm confdence rises

Preparing or

online VATreturns

Wellers Accountants arereminding all VAT-registeredbusinesses in the UK that they

will now have to submit their VAT returnsonline, and also pay any VAT owedelectronically.

As of 1 April 2012, 1.9 million VATregistered rms will now use the online

system for accounting periods beginningon or after 1 April 2012.

Few businesses will be exempt from the

switch. Examples include those subject toinsolvency procedures and businessesmanaged by individuals whose religiousbeliefs prevent them from using acomputer.

Businesses submitting their VAT returnsonline will need to register and enrol forthe HMRC service and will benet from

automated responses that their returnshave been received and alerts when theirnext return is due.

Individuals are legally responsible forpaying any tax due and ensuring thatHMRC receive all relevant information on

time.A penalty ranging between 100 and

400 will be charged if a paper return issubmitted, it is late, or if it is submittedwith an error.For more information, contact WellersAccountants on: Tel: 020 7630 6665Email: [email protected]: www.wellersaccountants.co.uk

The Chancellor, George Osborne, haslaunched the National Loan GuaranteeScheme (NLGS) to help smaller

businesses (with an annual group turnover of upto 50m) access more affordable credit.

The Government is providing up to 20bn ofgovernment guarantees on unsecured borrowingby banks, enabling them to borrow at a cheaperrate. Around 5bn in guarantees will be madeavailable in the rst tranche.

Participating banks will pass on the entirebenet that they receive from the guarantees to

smaller businesses across the UK throughcheaper loans. Businesses that take out anNLGS loan will receive a discount of 1percentage point compared to the interest ratethat they would otherwise have received fromthat bank outside the scheme.

The Government is not guaranteeingindividual loans to businesses and thus nottaking on the credit risk of loans made under thescheme. The banks retain the credit risk andtherefore their usual lending and creditparameters will apply.

The banks currently participating in thescheme are: Barclays, Santander, Lloyds andRBS.

Simon Walker, Director General of theInstitute of Directors, warned that these new,discounted loans will make it easier for smallerbusinesses to borrow and invest, but they arenot a silver bullet. Those rms who are able to

get loans will benet from lower interest

payments, but little will change for many whoare having problems getting bank nance in the

rst place. Even those who could borrow under

this scheme need condence, as well as

available credit, in order to do so. Withoutsufcient condence in the future, they wont

want to take on loans, even cheaper ones.

Scheme to boost small business lending

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The Government is on track to increase itscontracts with SMEs from 6.5% to 13.7%by the end of the year. Francis Maude,

Minister for the Cabinet Ofce, acknowledgesthat some of its previous promises to increaseSME procurement had failed, saying:

Governments may have been making positivenoises about SMEs but they certainly werentbuying from them.

The package of new measures is intended todrive faster growth and progress in opening upthe goods and services industry to smaller

companies, in turn improving the economy andsaving money for taxpayers.The key measures include a new exible

approach to IT contracts; focusing on smallerand cheaper solutions with more rms,

prompter payment and an extension of theinvestigative Mystery Shopper service whichallows SMEs to complain about procurementprocedures.

There will also be greater transparencybetween Government and SME procurements,and Government contracts with larger privatesector rms.

We are determined to shake up publicbuying so radically that there is no turning

back to the old days of SMEs being shut out,the Minister said.

Government to doublesmall company

procurementThe Government plans to double its spending on public sectorcontracts awarded to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs),rom 3bn to 6bn, it has announced.

Customsmodernisationin Trinidad

As of 12 March, 2012 the Customs &Excise Division of Trinidad andTobago has fully launched its new

automated system ASYCUDA World,which means that all goods entering orleaving the country will be processedelectronically.

Tricia Mitchell of local movers A JMauritzen & Company has contactedR&S to ensure that all BAR Membersknow that all clients must provide anitemized list with individual cost forcustoms in Trinidad and Tobago, whichshould be emailed to us prior to the arrival

of the shipment. She explains: we willalso need the client to sign a CustomsDeclaration which will be providedelectronically by A J Mauritzen & Co Ltd,which must be returned to us with the listof values for Customs.

W&G has been in the household

removals industry for over 35 yearsand handles over 80% of thecorporate relocations into and out of Fiji. Theformation of W&G Ltd goes back to the mid1920s when Captain Williams and Captain

Gosling, who were at the time involved inpilotage services for the vessels entering the Fijigroup of islands, got together and decided toform a partnership in Suva. This partnershipwas incorporated in October 1935 as a privateliability company, predominantly engaged instevedoring and pilotage services.

Since then the company has grown, diversied

and established itself as part of an international

network of cooperating agents involved infreight forwarding, Household and OfceRemovals, Local and International Courierservices and other businesses in the transportand logistics area.

Dave Aidney, W&Gs Managing Director, toldR&S that the companys new complex is located

on 12 acres of industrial land, 7kms away from

Suva Central. It boasts two concrete tilt slabwarehouses which are both 82m long by 23mdeep with a high canopy roof, he says.

The companys Household Removals businessoccupies two warehouses, DocumentManagement uses one warehouse, and the Off-wharf Container Freight Station occupies twowarehouses whilst one warehouse is currentlyoccupied by a tenant.

In addition, a three-storey ofce complex

fronts one of the warehouses whilst TransamFiji, of which W&G is a major shareholder,operates an off wharf Container Depot coveringve acres and designed to cater for 900 twenty-

foot equivalent units.The complex offers W&Gs logistics clients afully integrated service with most services beingavailable on the one site. This also includesFumigation & Pest Control Services offeredthrough another W&G joint venture called WG/ Genera Pacic Ltd plus a 60 tonne drive on

truck weighbridge platform scale.

For more information, see www.wgji.com.fjor contact Dave Aidney on Tel: 679-3236350.

Williams & Goslings new Integrated

Warehouse complex in Suva

Doing a delivery or the President o Fiji in to

Government House

W&G turns 75 in Fiji

BAR International Associate, Williams & Gosling Ltd (W&G), a leading removals company in the Pacifcisland o Fiji, has turned 75. It celebrated the occasion in style, with Fijis President, His Excellency RatuEpeli Nailatikau ofcially opening the companys new integrated logistics complex in Suva, Fiji.

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While all the useful functions of theold website have been retained including, importantly, the facility

to raise marine certicates electronically the

new site is laid out so that it is more practicaland interactive for its users.

Basically, its been sexed up, jokes GregWildman, Director, Basil Fry & Co. Moreseriously, the general look and feel of the siteis now much less clunky and much easier touse. Weve updated and expanded the range ofdocuments and templates that BAR Memberscan use, and weve added a News section, as

well as information about our RemovalsClaims Service.

Portcullis ServiceAs one of the three recognised serviceproviders to the military for insurance cover,Basil Fry & Co will be launching theirPortcullis Service this month on a dedicatedwebsite for members of the military topurchase insurance for their personal effectswhen moving.For more information, see www.basilfry.co.uk

New websites orBasil Fry & Co

Make sure you take a look at Basil Fry & Cos smart new website! Itsnew design acilitates easy navigation and much o the previouscontent has been updated and enhanced.

CrownWorldwideopens Cambodia

library

Crown Worldwide founder andChairman Jim Thompson hasinaugurated the Hazel Joyce Library

in Cambodia. The library, located in theremote Pursat Province in the PhnomKravanh district, is the result of Jimsgenerous donation. The Hazel Joyce libraryis named after Jims sister in recognition ofher charitable work.

Nearly 3,000 people, including Jimssister and students from the adjacent LechHigh School, attended the ceremony. In his

speech at the inauguration ceremony, Jimexpressed his wish that people would takeadvantage of the opportunities the libraryoffered, and through reading and learning,education could lift people out of poverty.

The library houses both English andKhmer books and also offers study areaswith sets of tables and chairs. Thisphilanthropic project supports Jims beliefthat education is crucial for the growth ofCambodia. The new library is Jims thirdphilanthropic project in Cambodia. Hesaid: There are so many needs in theworld, its overwhelming but when you

begin to focus, you can really dosomething of lasting value for people.

Santa Fe opensin Qatar

Santa Fe Group has opened a newSanta Fe Relocation Services ofce

in Doha, Qatar.Santa Fe Relocation Services offers

combined moving and relocation services

throughout Qatar and the United ArabEmirates region. For more information,contact Kim Creutzburg, ManagingDirector, Middle East (UAE and Qatar),Santa Fe on Tel: +974-44101860 /44101808 or see www.santaferelo.com

Santa Fe Qatar General Manager Ravi RajamaniEuro Group International Movers Ltd,formerly known as Euro USA Shipping,has acquired APAK Removals & Storage

Ltd of Dereham, Norfolk and also SowerbyRemovals & Storage Ltd of Kings Lynn,Norfolk. The company will form a new branchunder the retained administration team ofAndrew and Annmarie Pearson.

Euro Group says it is pleased to retain theemployment of the remaining administrationstaff and operational crews. The new branchwill operate directly under The Euro Group asAPAK Relocations. We envisage that with theguidance of The Euro Group management team

we shall see APAK Relocation progress anddevelop both in the local residential movingmarket and within Europe, Managing DirectorTony Tickner says.

Euro Group recently changed its name, toreect its global reach. We look at the

European-North American trade lane as a core

activity ofour businessand it willremain ourcore focus.Howeverwith ourcontinued expansion and development of newmarkets and services, it is essential that wefocus as a group to maximize our trafc lanes,

and open new doors across the Middle East,Asia Pacic and beyond, Tony explained.

Euro Group acquires APAK

ContactEuroUSA

Tel: 01638 515335Email: [email protected]: www.the-eurogroup.com

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AMatt Purdie & Sons road train hasbecome the largest ever vehicle to boardthe ferry to the Hebridean island of

Raasay.The operation formed part of a large houseremoval all the way from Surrey, and took MattPurdie & Sons of Kilmarnock seven days tocomplete in mid-February.

Matt Purdie Kilmarnock is one of the threenalists for this years DMotY award.

Matt Purdie road train goes to Hebrides

For JBM, which celebrates its 141stanniversary this year, the Pluscratesappointment is part of a quality initiative

intended to bring continuous, plannedimprovements across its portfolio of services,

which include commercial relocation, projectmanagement, IT and PC moves, asset recyclingand archive records management.

Pluscrates Regional Director, Nick Flaxmansaid, JBM have always kept us on our toesand we dont expect their declared commitment

now to change that. On the contrary, we arevery proud to have gained the trust of JBM andwill continue to deliver the levels of servicethey demand and make sure that their trust inus is rewarded in full.

JBM works with corporate clients across theUK from its ofces in Manchester,Birmingham and London. Pluscrates willservice the account from its distribution centresin Livingston, Manchester, Birmingham,London and Bristol.

Pluscrates to supplyJohnson Business Moves

Pluscrates has been appointed sole supplier o crate rental services tobusiness relocation specialist Johnson Business Moves (JBM). Thepartnership, which began in February, is expected to continue beyond2017.

Nick Flaxman (r) secures the deal with Gareth Hilton o JBM

At the heart oits operations:Reddaways

Removals

Reddaways Removals made a veryimportant ofce move in early March

when they relocated themselves fromtheir original ofce of 30 years into their

newly converted ofce building. The new

ofce is located in the centre of the

Reddaways Removals yard, and wasofcially opened by BAR President Reg

Hackworthy and BAR Director GeneralStephen Vickers.

Reddaways Removals Director, GeoffClinch, told R&S that the converted ofce

building has had many uses in the past,from housing cattle and sheep, being thelocal football club changing room and mostrecently for storing packing materials. Byhaving the ofce centrally located within

the Reddaways Removals yard, it willallow us to create an environment which iswelcoming for our customers and alsocreates a more efcient workplace for our

staff, he added. Mike Clinch, ReddawaysRemovals Director, says he sees theopening of the new ofce as the start of a

successful chapter for Reddaways.

Directors Mike and Geo Clinch cutting the ribbon

with Reg Hackworthy and Stephen Vickers

The Reddaways team (L-R): Linda Clinch, Mike

Clinch, Aron Ditchburn, Ben Woodhouse, Geo

Clinch, Joe Rice, Marion Clinch, Helena Williams

Moving in (L-R): Joe Rice, Aron Ditchburn, Mike

Clinch, Linda Clinch, Geo Clinch, Ben Woodhouse,

Helena Williams

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The partnership will see Reason Globalcontinue to implement its staff trainingprogramme on the sale of insurance, after

previous training unlocked additional revenuefor the company across both branch and areasites. There will also be collaboration withBishops Move on claims reporting as theremovals expert looks to reduce its claims costs

and improve on risk management.

Commenting on the deal, Al Bingle, BishopsMove Managing Director, said: Sinceappointing Reason Global in 2009 we haveenjoyed an excellent level of service, as well assome incredibly competitive premiums.

Theyve been a constant support in contact ona daily basis to answer any insurance questions,clarifying policy covers, and discussing anyissues or questions. Signing the 3-yearpartnership was an easy decision.

Ryan Squirrell, Reason Global AccountManager added: Its fantastic to see thecommercial value our insurance sales traininghas delivered to Bishops Move. With morethan a quarter-centurys staff expertise in theindustry and a deep understanding of thecommercial challenges facing clients, we feelperfectly placed to add even more value to theirbusiness over the coming years.

Bishops Move extendsdeal with Reason GlobalBishops Move has signed another exclusive 3-year deal with specialistinsurance broker, Reason Global. The companies have enjoyed asuccessul working relationship since 2009 when Reason Global wasappointed the sole insurance provider to the Bishops Move group.

Anglo Pacifclaunchesguarantee or

trade shippers

Anglo Pacic is launching a Money

Back Guarantee for its trade shippingcustomers, which will come into

effect on 1 May this year.Teresa Connolly, Anglo Pacics Trade

Shipping Manager, explains that in theunlikely event that the transit time fromreceipt of goods at our London depot toarrival at North American ports exceeds nineweeks, or 12 weeks for Australasian andother worldwide ports, we will commit torefunding all our groupage charges for

receiving, handling and shipping pluscustoms clearance, delivery and unpacking.Naturally this guarantee will keep us on ourtoes but it sends out a strong message aboutAnglo Pacics condence and commitment

to deliver on time.Whilst Anglo Pacic is unable to guarantee

the transit time through customs, thecompany is experienced in prioritising tradegroupage shipments to ensure their timelyarrival at the destination port. The moneyback guarantee applies to any late deliveryexcluding those subject to force majeure orany other circumstances beyond Anglo

Pacics control.For more information, contact Teresa andher team on Freephone 0800 707 6093 or seewww.anglopacic.co.uk/trade_shipping.htm.

Harrow Greenre-fts Southendcivic centre

H

arrow Green is working withSouthend-on-Sea Borough Council to

provide relocation services at theCivic Centre, undertaking a majorreconguration, re-t and enhancement

programme. The planned works are aimed atenhancing the Civic Centre and enabling theinterior space to be used as a more exible

working environment with greateroccupancy, allowing other council buildingsto be vacated. We have successfullycompleted the rst phase, said Scott

Poulton, Harrow Greens Sales Managerresponsible for project co-ordination. Wehave a well-thought through plan tocomplete the project in October 2012.

Harrow Green will be responsible for therelocation of around 1,100 staff and effects,1,500 linear metres of ling, along with

furniture, safes and other equipment. HarrowGreen will also handle the decommissioningand relocation of the Civic Centre IT.

Al Bingle (L), MD o Bishops Move and Ryan Squirrell, Reason Global Account Manager

Celebrity client or Richard Healey

Richard Healey Removals recently had thepleasure of helping the celebratedScottish stage and screen actress, Barbara

Rafferty, move homes. Barbara is most famousfor her role of Ella Cotter in the long-runningTV series, Rab C Nesbitt. She also played therole of Mrs Garrigan in the award winningmovie, The Last King of Scotland alongside

actors James McAvoy and Forest Whittaker.More recently she appeared in River City.The company says it was excited and

honoured to be chosen by her and her husband,actor Sean Scanlan, to organise and projectmanage their move. The rm were especially

pleased when she agreed to take part in their

promotional video, taking advantage of thetalent at hand!

Both Barbara Rafferty and Sean Scanlan weresaid to be extremely delighted with the highlevel of service and care with which the teamhandled their move.

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As part of their commitment to the localcommunity, Britannia Anchor Removalshas sponsored the new Boothstown

Lions U9s Junior football team kit.Chris Smallwood, Managing Director of the

company, believes that even in these difcult

trading times, it is crucial to support the localcommunity. Personally I am delighted that mycompany is able to support the team I manageand I know that people appreciate the time andeffort as well as the money we have put intothe team, he said.

Boothstown Lions currently lie just below

the half way line in the City of Salford leagueand Chris says they are developing well.

TV stardom aheadMake sure you watch the Britannia AnchorRemovals team on television show, YouDeserve This House, in June on Channel 4.The daytime series is based on presenterAmanda Lamb and a team of volunteerscompleting the secret makeover of the homesof community heroes. Britannias team ofAnthony Wynn and Gary Cox will be seen bya nationwide audience!

Britannia AnchorRemovals sponsor

youth team

The new Boothstown Lions U9s Junior ootball team

GB Liners newSwiss service

I

n response to customer demand, GBLiners have launched a new twice

weekly service to and fromSwitzerland. Working in conjunction withtheir Swiss partners, Packimpex, vehicleswill depart from GB Liners West LondonWarehouse on Mondays and Wednesdaysarriving at Packimpexs facilities inFreiburg on Wednesday and Fridayrespectively.

From arrival at Freiburg, delivery willbe made within two working days. Theservice also runs in reverse with vehiclesleaving Freiburg on Mondays andWednesdays and arriving at London onWednesdays and Fridays. GB Liners are

also offering a guaranteed delivery timefrom arrival at London to most UKdestinations.

Thomas Hare at GB Liners is in chargeof the new service and he says that he seesa lot of potential for a guaranteed,timetabled part load service. Eventually,the service will be extended to coverSouthern Germany and possibly furtheraeld, depending on customer demand.

He says, I see a great future in a point-to-point service using local knowledge andskills with partners at each end for originor delivery services.

The Swiss service, of course, is inaddition to GB Liners existing groupageservices to Dubai, Cyprus and India.

On Thursday 17 May Red Recruitsconsultants will be cycling 26 milesfrom Watford to Windsor in aid of The

Removers Benevolent Association (RBA).

The team will leave BAR HQ (TangentHouse, 62 Exchange Road, WD18 0TG) at12:30pm. Matt Purdie, Chairman of theRBA, will be one of this years hardpedalling cyclists. Last year Red Recruits

Charity Cycle Ride raised over 1,000 for theRBA and this year they are hoping to do evenbetter!

Please get in touch with the Red Recruit teamon 01621 840600 if you want to take part.

Apologies to Ingrams Removers and Storers! Their fabulous Mercedes vehicle which appeared in both the April 1992 and 2012 issues of R&S isof course 20 years old, not 10 years as we incorrectly said in our headline in the April 2012 issue. Since the van is in just as good shape 20 yearson to when it rst appeared in R&S, we look forward to reporting on its progress, jobs and journeys in 5 years time.

Red Recruits RBA cycle ride 17 May

Correction: Ingrams Removers and Storers

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Nationwide reported that house prices fellby 1 per cent in March. The price of atypical home is now 163,327, 0.9 per

cent lower than in March 2011. This was the rst

year-on-year decline in six months. Chiefeconomist Robert Gardner said a slowdownwas to be expected, given the imminent expiryof the stamp duty holiday, which had provided atemporary boost to house prices in early 2012 asbuyers brought forward purchases that wouldotherwise have taken place later in the year.

The removal of the stamp duty holiday for rsttime buyers purchasing a property up to thevalue of 250,000 was conrmed in the Budget.

Nationwide added that the introduction of a 7per cent stamp duty threshold on propertiespurchased for over 2 million is likely to have adampening effect on activity, albeit a modestone, given the relatively small number oftransactions involving properties over 2million. In 2010 there were 4,000 suchtransactions, accounting for just 0.5% of totalresidential property transactions in the UK.

Figures from the Land Registry for February

record an annual price decrease of 0.6 per centwhich takes the average property value inEngland and Wales to 161,588. The monthlychange from January to February was anincrease of 0.1 per cent.

The region in England and Wales whichexperienced the highest increase in its averageproperty value over the last 12 months isLondon with a movement of 4.2 per cent. Walesexperienced the greatest monthly rise with amovement of 2.0 per cent. The North Westexperienced the greatest annual price fall with adecrease of 3.5 per cent. The North East saw themost signicant monthly price fall with a

decrease of 2.6 per cent.The most up-to-date gures available showthat, during December 2011, the number ofcompleted house sales in England and Walesincreased by 8 per cent to 61,470 compared to56,875 in December 2010. The number ofproperties sold in England and Wales for over 1million in December 2011 decreased by 13 percent to 488 from 559 in December 2010.

Halifax said that on a monthly basis, houseprices increased by 2.2 per cent in March. Thisfollowed Februarys 0.4 per cent fall as pricescontinue to uctuate month-to-month as

transactions levels remain historically low.Prices in the rst three months of 2012 were 0.6per cent lower than in the same period last year.This was the smallest fall in prices on thismeasure of the annual rate since October 2010(+1.2 per cent). The UK average price in March2012, at 163,803, was almost identical to that

in July 2011 (163,765). Housing economistMartin Ellis said We continue to expect littleoverall movement in prices this year providedthat the UK economy does not suffer apronounced weakening.

Figures from Communities and LocalGovernment (CLG) for January show that UKhouse prices increased by 0.2 per cent over the

year and decreased by 0.7 per cent over themonth. The average mix-adjusted UK houseprice was 206,523. Average house pricesincreased by 0.2 per cent over the quarter toJanuary, compared to an increase of 0.6 per centover the quarter to October. Average pricesdecreased during the year in three UK countries;Wales (-0.5 per cent), Scotland (-1.7 per cent)and Northern Ireland (-7.6 per cent). However,there was an increase of 0.4 per cent in averagehouse prices in England.

The National Association of Estate Agentsreport for February showed an increase in thenumber of sales made at member branchesacross the UK. While there was some regionaluctuation, an average 7 sales were recorded per

branch for the month, up from 6 in January andthe highest gure since October 2011 (average

of 8 sales).NAEA agents cited the imminent end of the

Stamp Duty holiday for properties under250,000 as a key reason for continued buyerinterest from this section of the market. Demandfor property also rose during February. Onaverage, the number of house-hunters registeringwith an agent increased from 260 in January to293 in February. Compared with year-on-yeardata, buyer interest is considerably higher thanin February 2011, when just 268 house-huntersregistered.

Price change by region Source: Land Registry

Housing market still choppyHouse prices continued to be volatile in the rst quarter o 2012. Encouraging data in January andFebruary seems to have been partly prompted by the end o a stamp duty holiday in March, with buyers

anticipating their property purchases to escape the higher rate. The underlying picture o continueduncertainty in housing prices seems set to persist or some time.

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BAR News

The recent BAR Kent Area meeting tookon a different set up with BAR Membersvisiting a local hospice charity in Kent

instead.Local BAR Members decided to meet with

Pilgrims Hospice which provides specialistpalliative care to people in East Kent to discusstheir ideas to help with the collection offurniture, books, clothing and toys to be sold inthe Hospices shops across Kent.

Tom Bourne, Area Secretary explained toR&S that the local removals and storage

companies have been giving collection boxesto their clients before their move so that theclient can donate items to the hospice. Onmove day, the mover returns these boxes to thewarehouse for later collection by the hospice tosell. Berin Riley at Move-it Channelmovingsaid: We also nd people have items of goodquality furniture they no longer need and so werefer them directly to Pilgrims Hospice andtheir team who will come and collect large andheavy items for sale in their furniture stores.

C

learly by displaying the BAR/OFT badgetogether with the BAR National &European Group Member hat logo,

Members can take advantage of branding theirmarketing materials (including websites) to setthemselves apart from other removalcompanies. The badge and logo also raises the

prole of BAR which will in turn increasepublic awareness of the Association and itsobjectives.

To download the logos, go to the MyBARsection of www.bar.co.uk where you will alsond downloadable guidelines and toolkit

documents on how to correctly display the

BAR/OFT badge.BAR has republished information on how to

correctly display the BAR/OFT badge - make

sure you take a look at the BAR notices on theopposite page. For more information, pleasecontact [email protected]

Display o the BAR/OFT badge

Kent movers help local hospice

BAR Members can display the BAR/OFT badge with OR without their BARmembership number, provided it is in the correct place.

Berin Riley, Move-it Channelmoving (let) and Steve

Auty, Pilgrims Hospices.

F

or over 75 years, DKV Euro Service hasbeen the leading service provider to the

goods and passenger transport sector.Through the DKV Card and additionalservices the company offers its customers arange of products geared to day-to-daytransport operations and designed to optimisethe eet management process. The aim is to

help its customers avoid delays, takeadvantage of price benets and operate in a

more efcient manner. With more than 54,000

service stations DKV has the largest and most

comprehensive supply network in the sector.We will be proud to introduce ourselves as a

new BAR Afliate member and meet youduring the BAR Conference at Royal Windsorin May, for us a real New Focus! saysValerie Bamping, DKV Sales Manager. Weconsider this a great opportunity to personallydiscuss with BAR Members their requirementsin order to offer a customized package. Fuel,toll, VAT reclaim, excise duty refund and costmanagement: these are examples of what wecan offer you with DKV as your partner.

DKV Sales Manager Neil White conrms that he and Valerie will be at the Conference in the exhibition area. We will be happy to answer anyquestions and arrange appointments to discuss your individual requirements.

You drive, we care! Over 35,000 lling stations across 42

countries, including UK and Ireland

Toll solutions for all European countries VAT and Fuel Duty refund services

Dedicated Account Manager and

Administration Assistant

Breakdown services and 24 hour

helpdesk

On Line services for Route Planning,

Station Finding, e-reporting,Tachomanager etc.

78 years of experience. (85,000

customers with 1.6m cards)

New BAR Afliate: DKVBAR has appointed a new Aliate, DKV. Valerie Bamping and Neil White o DKV will be present at theBAR Annual Conerence at Royal Windsor later this month.

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BAR News

We have now been running R&S Magazine forjust over one year and we know some of you, butnot all of you! Please let us know if you are notreceiving and want to receive our monthly emailreminders for submitting ideas, news, commentsand events to include in future issues of themagazine, and the deadlines for submissions.

While we cannot promise to publish all yournews and information, it does help if submissionsare received within the copy deadlines.

Please also send us your feedback on thecontent of the magazine and your ideas for newregular sections or other improvements made.

In his keynote speech on What I KnowNow That I Didnt Know Then! Ian Studd,BAR Vice-President, looked at the

evolution of the industry over the past ve

years since he has been on the BAR Board,and gave an overview of the interests andconcerns that BAR Members have conveyedto him since he became BAR Vice-Presidenttwo years ago. He spoke of a change of feelin the management of BAR and followed withobservations which included: the need toimprove communication channels withMembers; how to engage with the silentmajority; the role of directly elected Membersof the Board; the need to embrace socialnetworking; effective and targeted marketing;training and support for Area ofcers, and the

prospects for the movers apprenticeshipscheme.

Ian skilfully brought the 60 participants atthe meeting up to date with the current debateon new BAR Membership criteria. There wasa constructive and lively debate on the criteria,inevitably with reference to previous debatesrelating to the referendum on standards. Anumber of strong views were expressed as toways in which the BAR badge could be madeto mean more. There was a clear consensusthat standards should be strengthened,imposed and enforced. Ian took note of thevarying positions and views that were aired atthe meeting so that these can be fed back tothe Board prior to the adoption debate at theConference in May.

Caroline Suard, BAR Marketing Manager,presented BARs ambitious new approach toraising the prole of the Association and its

Members. She also updated BAR Members oninformation relating to the London 2012OIympic and Paralympic Games, with detailed

maps and routes. For more information, seethe Olympics section of the BAR website.

Chris Waymouth, Chief Executive of QSSLtd, set out the benets for removals

companies of having the Overseas MovingStandard BS 8564:2011 and the simple stepsfor applying for the standard. Chris informedthe New Met Area participants that QSSsseven auditors are all highly experienced in theindustry. As Chris said, were here to help,not to score points!

The Big New Met DebateThe nal session of the day took the form of adebate with a panel Ian Studd, (BAR VicePresident), Paul Fox of Fox Moving andStorage (BAR President 2004/05) and MattFaizey of M&G Transport (Directly ElectedBAR Director) to discuss Training &Apprenticeships in the industry. Bob Tree ofBasil Fry acted as chairman/presenter andmeeting participants talked frankly about the

problems of training staff who subsequentlyleave, the poor perception of the industry,problems of recruitment and ageing staff andthe need to demonstrate at schools level thepossibility of a career in logistics. Plenty ofuseful suggestions were shared on how tomotivate staff beyond the simple issue of pay,and the importance of training in raising theself-esteem and condence of employees.

The meeting was sponsored by Wellers, BasilFry & Co, and Red Recruit and Referenceline.Proceeds of a rafe at the meeting were

donated to the Removers BenevolentAssociation BA, and a hamper of goodies wasgenerously donated by Red Recruit.

The New Met Area also held an annualgeneral meeting where it was agreed toexpand the Committee, preferably addingsomeone with IT skills.The next meeting will be on Thursday,

21 June 2012 at ICM Gerson Ltd,

Potters Bar.

New Met debates hot topicsAt the recent New Metropolitan Area annual meeting, BAR Members in the London area took theopportunity to share their industry experience in debates on important topics aecting their business andthe uture o the removals industry.

Its your magazine!If you have any news or comments about your business, theeconomy, and the industry in general, please send in yourinformation, letters or articles.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

The Editorial Team at R&S E: [email protected] T: 020 3235 1806

Discussing Training & Apprenticeships in the industry (L to R): Paul Fox o Fox Moving and Storage (BAR President

2004/05), Ian Studd, (BAR Vice President) and Matt Faizey (BAR Directly Elected Director).

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For any FREE* independent insurance, nancial or legal advice, pleasecontact a BAR Professional Adviser partner.

Financial Legal

Insurance

Basil Fry & Co Ltd

Tel: 01372 385 985

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.basilfry.co.uk

Reason Global Insurance

Tel: 01273 739961


Website: www.reason-global.com

Wellers

Tel: 0207 630 6665


Website: www.wellersaccountants.co.uk

Backhouse Jones Solicitors

Tel: 01254 828 300


Website: www.backhousejones.co.uk

in association with

The Professional Advisers Panel is a brand new

initiative specically designed to offer members

extended support across every aspect of their business.

This is a development of our highly successful Insurance

Broker Panel scheme whereby BAR members receive

unlimited support, guidance and advice from qualied

specialist companies within the UK. We are constantly

looking at ways to support our members businesses;

therefore, if this initiative proves to be a success, we

will develop the Professional Advisers Panel even further

into other relevant areas such as Health & Safety and

Environmental services.

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BAR News

Congratulations to the following BARMember companies who havesuccessfully qualied as nalists for the

Domestic Mover of the Year 2012.

Matt Purdie & Sons Ltd , Bathgate

MattPurdie&SonsLtd,Kilmarnock

M.J.Christophers&Son

Certifcate o Merit

Well done to the following companies who willbe presented with a Certicate of Merit:

AndrewsofKentInternational

Removals & Storage

BritanniaAnchorRemovalsLtd

MaidmansRemovals&Storage

ReddawaysRemovalsLtd

RichardHealeyRemovalsLtd

Who will become the next Domestic Mover ofthe Year? Find out at the BAR Conference onSaturday 19th May 2012 where the winner willbe announced. Good Luck to all of this yearsDMOTY nalists!

Donationofaprize:

KilmarnockRemovalsInternational

was started in 1976 by Lynda andBill Kerr, long-time BAR Members

and avid supporters of the association.Since joining Matt Purdie & Sons Ltd in

2009 when Lynda and Bill retired, thecompany has added two vehicles to theireet, increased the number of operations

staff by 40 per cent and brought stafftraining into line with the other Matt Purdie& Sons branches.Over the last three years,Matt Purdie & Sons, Kilmarnock trading asKilmarnock Removals International has

also obtained three quality standards, BSEN 12522, BS EN 15696 and BS EN14873.

Director Matt Campbell says we aredelighted to be Finalists this year. Being inthe nal three is just reward for the hard

work and dedication and professionalstandards shown by our staff in the last 12months. Some of the staff have been withthe team for nearly 25 years.

Location: Kilmarnock,

East Ayrshire

Principal: Matt Campbell

Employees: 11No. o vehicles: 5

Warehouse size: 14,000 t2

2011-12

DOMESTIC

MOVER OF

THE YEAR

DomesticMover o the

Year 2012 M.J.ChristophersandSonis afamily owned rm in its third

generation located on the northcoast of picturesque Cornwall.

The company offers a wide range ofservices, primarily domestic removals andstorage within the UK, European andOverseas removals, using its purpose-builteet of vehicles from two containerised

warehouses. With its South Westernlocation we offer trade assistance to fellowBAR Members.

M.J.Christophers is extremely proud to

have held the European Standard forHousehold Furniture Removals (BS EN12522) since 1999, shortly after thestandard was introduced.

Its long-standing staff are loyal, dedicatedand committed to providing a high qualityservice from enquiries through tocompleted removals. The companycontinuously strives to maintain andimprove standards, and provides a personaland professional service every time, whichis reected through comments in its quality

questionnaires, being DMotY Finalists lastyear and the accolade of being a Finalist

again this year.

Location: Newquay,

Cornwall

Principals:

Mike Christopher (Senior)

Mike Christopher (Junior)

Lynette Christopher

Employees: 10

Number o Vehicles: 6

Size o warehouse(s): 10,000 t2

2011-12

DOMESTIC

MOVER OF

THE YEAR

M.J.Christophersand Sons

Matt Purdie& Sons Ltd,Kilmarnock

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BAR News

Matt Purdie & Sons Ltd, Bathgateis proud to have reached the nalof DMotY, the most prestigious

award within the removals industry.As Central Scotlands largest removal

company, Matt Purdie & Sons offers acomplete range of removal servicesincluding UK domestic removals andstorage, European and Overseas removals.It is the only British company to haveachieved all ve industry related British

(BS) and European (EN) Standards in allaspects of moving services, including the

Kitemark, and is inspected and auditedindependently on an annual basis. Thecompany is striving to become moreenvironmentally conscious and is currentlyworking to the Environmental ManagementStandard (ISO 14001), due to be auditedlater in May.

Company owner Matt Purdie says toreach the nal three times in four years is a

huge accolade for the Bathgate branch. Theincreased staff morale and percentage ofenquiries converted are directly attributedto DMOTY, the most prestigious award inour industry.

Location: Blackburn,

West Lothian

Principals: Matt Purdie

Archie Purdie

Audrey Smillie

Neil Purdie

Employees: 34

No. o vehicles: 15

Warehouse size: 45,000 t2

2011-12

DOMESTIC

MOVER OF

THE YEAR

Matt Purdie& Sons Ltd,Bathgate

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BAR News

T

hey heard an eye-opening andinformative presentation from BARDirector of Marketing, Caroline Suard

about cost effective marketing solutions andbest practices. Carolines presentation caughtthe imagination of the Young Movers; shetalked about how to use free marketing toolsto the best effect, gave tips on websiteoptimisation and how to analyse your websiteinformation and statistics. She also talkedabout how businesses are now using socialmedia and how BAR Members can benet

from the corporate alliances she has created.After this, the Young Movers went on a wild

foot safari where they saw animals such aslemurs, monkeys, giant turtles, penguins, sea-

lions and lynxes. Some then went around theSafari Park in their cars to see the largeranimals, and they spotted ostriches, elephants,lions, tigers, zebra, camels and some verycheeky monkeys! Of course, the YoungMovers continued their networking in theevening with a nice meal together, a glass ortwo and some pretty energetic dance moves!

Young

Moversgo Saari!The BAR Young Movers met orlunch at Woburn Saari Parkrecently.

Young Movers

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BAR NewsBAR News

While the latest BAR survey statistics(covering the rst three months of2012) show some reasons to be

cheerful, the market remains a tough one andcompanies are still retrenching or taking acautious approach to investment.

Q1 2012 saw a modest growth in the number ofmoves within the UK, with an incraese ofapprximatley 4 per cent on Q1 2011. Thistrend is conrmed by new BAR Member SamPope of Alexanders Removals & Storage Ltd,who took part in the survey. Theres denitelygrowth between the previous year and this yearas if the rst stages of recovery may be takingplace within the economy said Sam. So it islooking quite hopeful from our perspective.There wasnt enormous growth but still nicesteady growth, so we are pleased.The number of staff employed held steady inQ1 2012, with a decrease of just 0.08 per cent, a

sign perhaps that while there are some greenshoots visible in the economy, rms are taking acautious approach to costs. This approach isreected also in the gures for vehicles in useover the quarter, which show an overall decrease

of nearly 1 per cent.Moves to European countries in Q1 2012showed a good deal of uctuation, recording a29 per cent increase in January, a 16 per centincrease in February and an 18 per cent decreasein March. The top European removal destination

for Q1 2011 was France followed by Spain andthen Switzerland.The top European removal destination for Q12012 was Spain followed by Germany and thenFrance and Switzerland.Moves to non-European countries continued todecline in 2012, with a year to date decrease of10 per cent in Q1, reecting the fact that while

the statistics show there are reasons to becheerful for some, the market overall is still in afragile condition.At this moment in time business is verytough in the removal industry, Tony Allen, ofEasyMove (Bristol) told R&S. We are doing

our utmost to secure any work that is available.The top Overseas (non-European) removaldestination for Q1 2011 was Australia followedby USA and then New Zealand. The topOverseas (non-European) removal destination

for Q1 2012 was USA followed by Australia andthen New Zealand.

Industry Statistics: Q1 2011-12

BAR would like to thank thoseMembers who have participated inthe Industry Surveys.

There will be a new approach topresenting industry statistics. Fulldetails to ollow soon.

For more inormation, please contact

the Commercial Department:[email protected] or call01923 699 483

Figure 1: Moves within the UK

7.00%

6.00%

5.00%

4.00%

3.00%

2.00%

1.00%

0.00%

2012 compared to 2011 by month

Figure 2: Moves to European countries

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%

-10.00%

-20.00%

-30.00%


Figure 3: Moves to Overseas (non-European countries)


Feb

3.04%

Mar

2.32%

YTD

3.86%

Jan

6.28%

Feb

16.22%

Feb

-8.06%

Mar

-17.86%

Mar

-3.03%

YTD

4.17%

YTD

-10.00%

Jan

28.57%

Jan

-22.22%

Figure 5: Vehicles in use

0.00%

-0.50%

-1.00%

-1.50%

-2.00%

-2.50%

-3.00%


YTD

-0.96%

Figure 4: Sta Employed

3.00%

2.00%

1.00%

0.00%

-1.00%

-2.00%

-3.00%

-4.00%


Feb

1.34%Mar

2.28%

YTD

-0.88%

Jan

-3.52%

0.00%

-5.00%

-10.00%

-15.00%

-20.00%

-25.00%

Jan

-2.59%

Feb

0.00%

Mar

0.00%

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BAR News

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BAR NewsBAR News

The European Parliament

TheParliamentisoneoftheEUsmain

law-makinginstitutions,alongwiththe

CounciloftheEuropeanUnion,which

representsnationalgovernments.

OneoftheParliamentsmainrolesisto

scrutiniseotherEUinstitutions,

particularlytheEuropeanCommission,

tomakesuretheyareworking

democratically

TherstdirectelectionstotheEuropean

Parliamenttookplacein1979.The

currentMEPswereelectedin2009and

will serve until 2014.

FollowingtheLisbonTreatysignedin

2007,theParliamenthasmuchmore

powertoinuenceEuropeanlegislation.

TheParliamentbudgetfundsthe

runningofaninstitutionwith736

Membersand23ofcialworking

languages.The2011,theParliaments

budgetamountedtoEUR1.686bn.

TheUKhaschairedtheCouncilof

EuropesinceNovember2011andisdue

topassonthechairmanshiptoAlbaniaon 14 May 2012.

TheUKwillnextholdthePresidencyof

theEUin2017.

Twelve times a year the EuropeanParliament, which carries out most of itseveryday work in Brussels, meets in its

ofcial seat, the medieval French city of

Strasbourg. This historic town, which over thecourse of the centuries has been fought over andgoverned by both French and Germans, hasbecome a symbol of European unity andreconciliation and is home to countless Europeaninstitutions.

At the invitation of Member of EuropeanParliament Mike Nattrass, a small group of BARMembers visited the city for the March sitting ofthe Parliament. It was a fantastic trip anexcellent mix of business and pleasure, BrianMaidman, Managing Director of Maidmans,says. It was very interesting to see how we canget the ears of MEPs and make our case heard asBAR Members if we approach the Europeaninstitutions in the right, structured way. It was areal eye-opener.

The organisation of the BAR expedition waspitch-perfect, with no problems encountered onthe high speed rail line from London to Paris

Gare du Nord and a smooth transfer to the Garede lEst. It was then on to another high speedtrain to Strasbourg and to an excellent hotel inthe city centre and a dinner on the rst night of

local delicacies and beers.The following morning, Mike Nattrass invited

the team into the public gallery of the EuropeanParliament, where they could listen to a debateon the Greek bailout, before a Maltese civilservant gave an extensive and informativeoverview of how the various Europeaninstitutions work together. I found the talk veryhelpful and useful, John Luxford, ManagingDirector of Luxfords of Weybridge told R&S. It

explained very well how the system works, whyit matters, and put it all into perspective.

We hear a lot in the British press about someof the more unhelpful EU laws, according toJohn, and its easy to be anti-Europe and blameEurope for legislation. But most of the lawsactually make sense, and the transport laws thataffect removal companies seem fair enough and

common sense. Its important for us that there isEurope-wide legislation and that the generalrules are the same. While Mike Nattrass didntnecessarily convert us all to UKIP hes anentertaining guy and a great host, and were verygrateful for his time and company!

The BAR Members were also able to see someother European institutions on a trip throughStrasbourgs historic canals in the afternoon,including the Council of Europe, which is adifferent and older organisation than theEuropean Union, and was founded in 1949 onthe inspiration of Winston Churchill. TheCouncil, which now has 47 member states,

established the European Court of HumanRights, which is also based in Strasbourg.

The river trip was fascinating, Brian toldR&S. In addition to all the European politicalactivities, Strasbourg has an interesting (and attimes gruesome) history and is full of medievalarchitecture. I would denitely return.

During the journey, one of the topics the group

discussed was the possibility of BAR organisingstudy groups to Europe, perhaps under theauspices of the Young Movers, to visit otherremoval and self-storage companies with state-of-the-art facilities, for example in France,Belgium and the Netherlands. According toJohn, Study tours are an excellent opportunitynot only to nd out how other companies do

things abroad, but also to talk to other Membersand network. Brian agrees: The Strasbourg tripwas so well organised by Tracy Britten of BARand so interesting that we think a similar studytour could be of real value to other BARMembers.

BAR at the European ParliamentA select group o BAR Members travelled to Strasbourg in March or an interesting and inormative visit o theEuropean Parliament. The BAR team was well looked ater by Mike Nattrass, a UK Independence Party MEP who isa guest speaker at the BAR Annual Conerence later this month. The event was an excellent opportunity or learningmore about Europe and building closer ties with other Members.

DontmissMikeNattrasskeynotespeechat

the BAR Annual Conference on Saturday

19thMay.Mikeislikelytobeaninteresting

speakerwhowillchallengeourthoughtson

howtheEUfunctions.Thereisstilltimetoregister:

seewww.bar.co.uk/conference2012.aspx.

Keynote Speech

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BAR NewsBAR Services

The conference has always been a verypositive experience for BAR Services. Weget to talk to our customers about what

they really want, whether that is new services,new products or simply just advice, commentsMiranda. We dont want to be the anonymousvoice at the end of of the phone, we want ourcustomers to know who we are as we feel this

helps build and improve our workingrelationships.The company has attended the BAR

conference since BAR Services began in the1970s and any regular conference goers willknow Miranda and Ali from many of theseevents. This year they will also be joined bytheir new Account Manager, Tim Oliver. Nodoubt, many of you will already have had a visitfrom Tim but for those of you who havent, thisis the ideal time to discuss with him anypackaging issues you may have or to book anappointment. The conference stand is the idealplace for you to talk to the team and see whatnew products are now available.

This year BAR have also provided allsuppliers attending the conference with a fteen

minute showcase to be able to provide furtherinformation on any new and innovative productsthat will be of interest to the removal industry.BAR Services will be showcasing itsrevolutionary new RB ute cartons. As you will

already no doubt know, BAR Services has

recently launched a newrange of corrugated casesthat are manufactured usingRB-ute. RB-ute is a new

type of corrugated uting

that is smaller, atter and

closer together than BCute so consequently, it has

major benets to theremoval industry. Thespecially designed shapeand pitch of the ute means

more corrugated can beloaded on to a pallet. Thisleads to fewer deliveries tohandle therefore savings inlogistics and less storagespace requirements. Thesefactors lead to a reductionin its cost.

With orders already inexcess of 100,000, the

product has been wellreceived and BAR Serviceshas found feedback to bevery encouraging. They will be talking in detailabout the benets of this product at the BAR

Services show case on Friday 18 May at4.25pm, so please feel free to join them and beable to see a sample of this corrugated board.

BAR Services know you will have a busy few

days attending workshops, discussions, not tomention the evenings entertainment, but dontforget to visit the team if you are attending.Miranda, Ali and Tim will look forward toseeing Members at the conference, to both meettheir new customers and to catch up withexisting ones.

BAR Services at the BARConerence in WindsorBAR Services are looking orward to attending this years BAR conerence at the Royal Windsor Hotel, 17-19 May.General Manager, Miranda Hyder, eels it is a great opportunity or the company to interact and meet with theircustomers ace to ace and discuss the service they provide in a more relaxed environment.

BULK PURCHASING OFFER RB FLUTE CARTONS

STANDARD BAR PRINT

As launched in Aprils R&S, the design o the RB fute allows more cartons per

pallet leading to less transport and storage costs thereore reduced prices.

Pack 2s 0.84 each

Pack 6s 0.59 each

Order 1,000 o either size cartons beore 23rd May 2012 to beneft rom these prices.

* Prices are subject to VAT. Orders must be placed by 5pm on the 23rd May 2012.

A total bulk order o 10,000 per size must be achieved by the members to qualiy or this price.

BAR ServicesMoorhallSandhawes LaneEast Grinstead

West SussexRH19 3NR

Tel: 01342 870087Email: [email protected]

Working for you

BAR SERVICES

MAY 2012 CONFERENCE OFFER

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BAR NewsOlympics Monitor

>> Olympics monitor

This regular section oR&Sis designed to help Members prepare or the transport challenges that we acethis Summer as the UK hosts the largest sporting event in its history.

The transport industry has welcomed thedecision by Mayor of London, BorisJohnson (pictured), not to increase

parking nes to 200 during the Olympics.

John Mitchell, Managing Director of

Pluscrates who spoke out against the plans inthe February 2012 issue of R&S said: thechallenges facing vehicle operators in thecapital during the London Olympics are goingto be difcult enough without the added

burden of increased nes. This U turn is a

triumph of common sense over nancial

opportunism. The Freight TransportAssociation said that the Olympics andParalympics are likely to see commercialvehicle operators attract more Penalty ChargeNotices as they try to feed greater demand forgoods against a backdrop of severe roadrestrictions. A higher PCN level would have

penalised those companies who unfairly attractPCNs in the course of keeping Londons highstreets well stocked; a function that is of evengreater importance when London plays host tothe worlds greatest event this summer, FTAsaid.

The cost of PCNs issued to trucks and vansin London has been rising steadily and hasincreased by 30% in just two-and-a-half years.

Natalie Chapman, FTAs Head of Policy forLondon, said while the number of ticketsissued to our members rose by 30%, LondonCouncils data shows the number of PCNs

issued to all road users, including motorists,actually reduced over the same period. Thissuggests there is a need for commercialvehicle operators to improve theirunderstanding of how certain parking

restrictions apply. As well as training driversand identifying PCN hotspots, a well-targeted and intelligent approach to appealingunfair PCNs could save some companieshundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

As well as providing great opportunities, thissummer is going to pose an enormouschallenge for the logistics sector in London the last thing it needs are further nancial

burdens. Todays decision by the Mayor willgo a long way to stop the spiralling costs ofdelivering to businesses and residents inLondon during the Games.

Olympic parking fnes scrapped Plans unveiledor transportlegacy oGames

Looking beyond the Games, theMayor of London and Transport forLondon (TfL) have published a

joint plan to ensure that the 2012 Gamesleave a permanent transport legacy.

The Mayor said Londoners are alreadyreaping the benets of 6.5bn

investment on transport improvements,which have delivered improvements toTube, Docklands Light Railway (DLR),rail and cycling infra

Documents

RS May 2012