Members of van & driver rental company U-Move Group gathered at Northamptonshire’s prestigious Whittlebury Hall on 11 February for the Group’s first national conference.

U-Move, which was formed last year by Andy Pearson and Mark Ratcliffe, offers people moving on a tight budget or without a driving licence the option of renting a van with a professional driver to transport their belongings.

After a welcoming address from co-founder Mark Ratcliffe, Andy Pearson introduced a number of guest speakers including Greg Wildman from insurance broker Basil Fry & Company; Danny Hazelgrove, whose company Fountain Digital is responsible for the U-Move website, and Matt Ballard who gave a talk on the options available when acquiring new vehicles: leasing, buying or renting. Earlier, David Jordan from The Mover had explained some of the mysteries of getting stories in the press and how to catch the eye of the editor.

Following an excellent buffet lunch, Andy Pearson introduced a new arm to the U-Move Group: U-Move eUropean. This new service will provide movers with a regular delivery service from the UK to Western Europe from receiving depots located in Markham Moor, Dereham and Eastbourne.

In closing, Andy thanked the members and guest speakers for attending the conference and hoped that everyone had taken something away from the day.

U-Move will have a trade stand at The Movers & Storers Show in November and at the Self-Storage event in Berlin in October.

Next year’s conference will be held at Whittlebury Hall in February.

Photo: U-Move members receive their membership certificates.