Member Article

Summer success for removals firm – despite a slowing property market

McCarthy’s Removals and Storage sees a 14 per cent increase in bookings and revenue despite less movers on the market

With the numbers of properties up for sale hovering at record low levels, one Yorkshire removals firm is bucking the industry trend.

McCarthy’s Removals and Storage has reported a noticeable increase in removals work this Summer – despite an as-expected drop in enquiries due to the slow property market.

The family-run removals firm, which has been based in Leeds since 1968, has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of enquiries coming through from home-movers, which ties in with reports of a slow property market due to uncertainty around the general election and Brexit – and more recently the threat of interest rate rises.

Despite the reduced number of property sales taking place both nationally and regionally, McCarthy’s has facilitated thousands of moves over the summer months, increasing both the number of moves handled and revenue by 14 per cent from 2016. The busy summer period for removals is usually from June until the end of September, but McCarthy’s is currently fully booked until the end of October.

The storage facilities at McCarthy’s have also been at between 95 and 100 per cent capacity for the last three months. These are typically used when a homeowner sells their property and puts items into storage before buying somewhere new.

Mike McCarthy, managing director of McCarthy’s Removals and Storage, said: “The feedback we’re getting from the industry generally is that people are putting moving on hold because of Brexit and the general political uncertainty in the country at the moment. We’ve certainly had over 20 per cent less enquiries this year than in 2016 and a staggering 40 per cent less than 2015. Given there’s been less people looking for removals services, we’ve been delighted to actually grow our number of customers by 14 per cent.

“It’s also interesting that our storage is currently running almost permanently at full capacity. It’s definitely a trend we’re seeing – more people are selling their house and putting their belongings into storage so they don’t lose the sale. It also has the added bonus of making them chain-free when it comes to offering on a new property. It’s another sign of a slow market, because people can’t risk losing fewer buyers or missing out on the home they want when there’s less on the market.”

McCarthy’s is primarily known for its private and commercial removals and storage services. Operating across Yorkshire, it also has storage facilities in Leeds, Harrogate and Wakefield. In addition, McCarthy’s offers a range of business services including document management, archive storage and confidential document shredding.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Shona Nutter .