The safe transfer of participants' luggage from London to Brighton has been a reassuring and much valued feature of the Veteran Car Run for many years. This year that task has been entrusted to an organisation new to the Run, but rich in the experience and accolades that makes it a very safe pair of hands - Williams & Yates. Director Matt Williams chatted with us about the history of the company, and how it is preparing to tackle the Veteran Car Run luggage transfer service.

What is the Williams & Yates 'origin story'?

It all began in 2010. My friend Justin Yates and I had left school, aged 18, and were eager to get into business. We had family experience in the removals industry, so we bought a van, named it Oscar, and our first enterprise, JamVans was born, initially handling courier deliveries and light removals, with the two of us providing all the labour.

That business grew quickly and within a year we travelled to 16 countries, with many clients recommending us or using us for repeat business. So we were obviously doing something right! Fast forward to 2014 and JamVans - which had 15 employees by then, along with multiple vehicles and its own storage facilities - became one of the fastest growing removal companies in London. And by 2018 we had a fleet of vehicles, 36 employees and covered more than three-quarters of a million miles that year alone. 

As we grew, it became evident that there was a demand we could fill for larger moves, both for private clients and for insurance companies, who were increasingly using us. With those high-net-worth individuals and insurance companies came much larger houses, and the requirement to scale up to even larger vehicles. That different clientele required a different brand. And so, in 2019,  Williams & Yates was born. Just six years later it boasts 47 employees, 14 vehicles and an enviable reputation for exceptional service amongst a long, long list of clients in the UK and overseas.

I'm happy to say that JamVans still exists, and continues to provide a fantastic service for those who require a smaller scale move - perhaps relocating from a two-bedroom flat for example - and who welcome the level of high-quality individual service, care and attention to detail we provide. 

What makes Williams & Yates special?

Our level of service. We offer an all-encompasing service, which always includes packing, export packaging etc. We will take down chandeliers from ceilings and dismantle and pack them, hoist large pieces of furniture out of and into properties, provide handyman work - in short, we do all we can to take the pressure off the customer and manage all aspects of the removals process.

We handle a lot of overseas moves from London, particularly to Los Angeles and California and New York but also to Australia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Canada, and across Europe. And we do it all ourselves - there is none of the subcontracting to third parties which can be quite common in this industry.  

We never forget that while moving is a physical process, it's also an emotional one, and we are dealing with people. Each client is managed by their own move coordinator and each new member of staff is trained by our hugely experienced in-house trainer. He not only trains them in the physical skills required to safely manage packing and removals, he also focuses on how our clients should be treated. 

Moving can be a stressful experience, and we do sometimes encounter people at their worse, and it's our job to anticipate their needs and make everything run as smoothly as possible for them. I would say that the number of repeat customers we have is testament to the success of this - we were even asked to handle a relocation entirely within France. We had originally moved that customer to France and when they were subsequently moving within France, they asked us to manage that for them as well.

Do you exclusively handle large-scale house or business moves?

We also work with many interior designers, taking delivery of the items they will use in a customer's home or business into our climate-controlled storage facility then delivering everything out to the project location when the designer is ready for the installation. And we have become known for our specialist fine art services, whether that's a single painting that needs moving across London, or an entire collection that requires relocating around the world. We've worked with many private collectors, dealers and museums to relocate artwork, sculptures and installations by road, sea freight and air freight. We manage the transportation of the assets, planning every detail, liaising between the client, carriers, national government departments and customs to keep everything on track.

We also handle small moves where something is needed to be transported quickly and safely. For example, if a film set needs a prop in a particular location at a particular time, they will turn to us. 

And now you're moving several hundred pieces of luggage from London to Brighton in one day for hundreds of individuals - how did your team react to that news? 

The news was very well received!  A lot of people on our team are car enthusiasts, so when we were approached by the Royal Automobile Club to provide the participant luggage transfer service on 2 November, there was no shortage of volunteers willing to get up very early that Sunday morning!

We actually helped out at the Club a few months ago, when we were asked to remove the Spitfire fuselage which had been on display in the Rotunda. That was definitely a new one for us, in terms of the item itself, though our experience in moving rare and unusual items meant it was something we could comfortably manage, in spite of the tight access and delicate surroundings, which meant no room for error. Having managed the exit of the Spitfire, we then assisted with bringing in the next Rotunda exhibit that day - Sir Jackie Stewart’s iconic blue Tyrrell Formula One car.

How's the logistics planning going?

We've been working with the Veteran Car Run team for the last couple of months to plan the logistics and it's all coming together well. Participants who have registered for the service will be issued with their luggage labels in advance, and a Williams & Yates van will travel between the relevant London hotels and other collection locations very early in the morning of 2 November, relaying the luggage to the large lorry we will use to transport everything to Brighton.

How will you keep track of everything?

Every piece of luggage will be checked in and noted on our inventory before being loaded onto the lorry. This lorry has five side loading doors, and the luggage will be stored by Veteran Car Run start number - numbers 0-100 behind the first door, 101-200 behind the second and so on. This will make it much quicker to locate a participant's luggage down in Brighton.

In Brighton, the lorry will be parked up in a central collection area and we will also have a van shuttle service in operation to take luggage to the relevant hotels for participants who are staying in the town overnight.

So you're looking forward to it?

It's a privilege to be involved, and we can't wait!

For more information on Williams & Yates removal services, please visit their website.