International · from SW19
Moving abroad from Wimbledon
European removals from Wimbledon run on the same inventory as a local move, with a customs file built on top of it. We load in SW19, cross at Folkestone or Dover, and clear the paperwork against a list that was written in your house rather than guessed at a depot.
Four routes are run regularly enough to have their own pages: France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Everything else in western Europe is on enquiry.
The four routes we run from Wimbledon
These are the destinations where we hold agents, know the entry formalities and run vehicles often enough to quote them properly. Each has its own page with the road route, the regions we deliver to, and the document list split between what you obtain and what we obtain.
Removals from Wimbledon to France
The most common Wimbledon-to-France move we see is a family with school-age children going to the south-west, and a second home in Normandy being emptied back the other way.
- Paris and the Île-de-France
- Normandy and the north
- Brittany and the Loire
- Charente, Dordogne and the Lot
Removals from Wimbledon to Spain
Andalucía and the Costa Blanca take most of the volume out of SW19. Madrid and Barcelona are corporate relocations more often than retirements, and behave differently.
- Madrid and the centre
- Catalonia and Barcelona
- Valencia, Alicante and Murcia
- Andalucía and the Costa del Sol
Removals from Wimbledon to Italy
Tuscany and Umbria are the classic SW19 destinations. Milan is a work move and behaves like a city relocation anywhere.
- Milan, the lakes and Lombardy
- Piedmont and Turin
- Tuscany
- Umbria and Le Marche
Removals from Wimbledon to Portugal
The Algarve takes most of the SW19 volume, with the Silver Coast growing. Lisbon and Cascais behave like city moves — lifts, permits and narrow streets.
- Lisbon and Cascais
- The Silver Coast
- The Algarve
- Porto and the north
How a European move out of SW19 actually runs
It begins the same way a move to Raynes Park begins: a survey, a measured volume and a written inventory. The difference is that the inventory then becomes a customs document, which is why we are particular about it. Customs authorities read "twelve cartons, books" very differently from "boxes".
The vehicle leaves Wimbledon on the A3 or the A24, joins the M25 and runs round to the M20 for the Folkestone shuttle. From Calais the routes diverge: east and south for Italy, straight south for Spain and Portugal, and anywhere at all for France. The export declaration is raised before the vehicle reaches the port and the import entry is lodged by an agent in the destination country against the same inventory.
Where storage fits
Overseas completions slip. That is not pessimism, it is the pattern — Spanish and Portuguese purchases in particular. Rather than hold a removal date hostage to it, we collect on whichever date is genuinely fixed, seal the containers under inventory, and hold. When the far end becomes real, the export file is built against the list we already have. The storage page sets out how that works and what the sealed chain means.
Picking up beyond Wimbledon
Although we are an SW19 firm, a vehicle heading to Europe does not care much where the second pickup is. We regularly collect elsewhere in south-west London and along the M25, and we take consignments from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol when a European run is already scheduled. If you are moving from one of those cities rather than from Wimbledon, say so at enquiry and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right firm or whether a local one will serve you better.
What we will not tell you
We will not give you a transit time before we know your route, your load and whether you are sharing a vehicle, because the honest answer varies enormously and a made-up number helps nobody. Your written quote carries an estimated window for your specific consignment. The same goes for duty: it depends on your residence status and your paperwork, and we would rather set out the conditions than imply a guarantee.
International
Questions about moving abroad
01 Which countries do you actually cover from Wimbledon?
France, Spain, Italy and Portugal as established road routes with their own pages and their own customs agents. The rest of western Europe on enquiry — Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland are all reachable on the same vehicles. We would rather tell you the honest answer for a country we run rarely than pretend everywhere is routine.
02 Do you collect from outside Wimbledon?
Yes. A European vehicle leaving SW19 regularly picks up a second address elsewhere in south-west London or on the M25 corridor, and we take loads from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol when a run is already going that way.
03 What is the difference between a dedicated vehicle and a shared load?
A dedicated vehicle carries only your goods and leaves when you want it to. A shared or part-load travels with other consignments going the same way, which costs less and departs when the route fills. If your dates are firm, take the dedicated vehicle; if your dates are flexible, the shared load is usually the better value.
04 Who handles the customs paperwork?
We do, working from the inventory written at your house and with a clearing agent in the destination country. What we cannot obtain for you are the documents that are personal to you — tax numbers, residence registrations, consular certificates. Each country page sets out exactly which is which.
05 Can my things be stored here before they go abroad?
Very commonly, yes. Overseas dates slip more than domestic ones. Goods are collected on the date that is fixed, sealed in containers under inventory, and the export file is built against that same inventory when the far end is real.
06 Do you move single items or part of a household abroad?
Yes — part-loads are a large share of the European work, particularly for second homes. A few pieces of furniture and twenty cartons is a perfectly normal consignment.
Tell us where it is going
Two addresses, a rough idea of the volume, and whether the far end has a date yet. We will come back with the route, the document list and a written quote.