An interview with Jordan and Chloe Bignell of Britannia Quickmove as they ease into running their own moving business.
For everyone the COVID crisis came as a shock. For many companies, it did them few favours. But for Jordan Bignell and his wife, Chloe, it all worked out rather well.
Jordan had been working with Britannia Quickmove of Wiltshire for around 10 years. Peter Monk started the company in 1970 and took Jordan on as an apprentice, a role he warmed to quickly under the expert guidance of surveyor Peter King who remains with the company today.
Peter Monk sold the business to the owners of a local self storage company in 2015. But the moving side wasn’t for them and, come 2019, they were ready to sell. Jordan, who had taken a management degree sponsored by the company and Chloe, previously an account manager with a major corrugated cardboard converter, decided to take the plunge.
Chloe explained that the deal was agreed towards the end of 2019. Before finally settling, the newly-married couple went on a belated honeymoon to Thailand. “We got back in March 2020, then everything went into lockdown,” she explained.
Now this sounds like a disaster, but the deal had not been finalised so the Bignell’s were able to take their time. They closed the company for a few weeks, made their plans and completed the sale on 1 July, 2020. “Since then we have had a fantastic 18 months,” said Chloe. “It could have been a disaster. We were going into an industry that had disappeared overnight because of COVID. But we figured we didn’t have anything to lose. If you get that sort of opportunity, you should just do it.” ...
Photo: Jordan and Chloe Bignell.