News

April 2011

“What housing slump? The market is worth £1.5 billion”

"We’ve done all the huffing and puffing so our franchisees can look after the lightweight business of managing.”

It may seem an unlikely time to start a removals business....but Two Men And A Truck have been defying trends for some time; and a business that you would expect to suffer when house sales have slumped.....is actually on the up.  

“The downturn in house sales hasn’t affected us one bit because we’re in demand through reputation,” said UK Managing Director Mike Harrison. “Over two million people will be on the move this year, either from homes or businesses, in a market worth £1.5 billion. We specialise in short-haul in a radius of around ten miles, so we can keep our overheads down by not making long, costly and time-consuming journeys.

“Couple that with a proven operating system, expertise gathered over 18 years and a really friendly, bunch of guys who’ll look after furniture as if it were their grandmother’s....and you’ve got a proven business that’s going places.”  

During the global financial woes, Two Men And A Truck have been busy expanding their franchisee stable to over 215 depots in America and Ireland. 

The first franchise in Scotland will be  opening for business in May, after successfully completing training in Dublin, where Two Men And A Truck has been doing business for four years.

Two Men And A Truck is restricting the number of UK and Ireland licenses to a maximum of 60 and says enquiry numbers  are “more than healthy”. “When they’re gone, the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this highly successful business will be gone as well.”

The company was born when housewife Mary Ellen Sheets hit on the idea of giving her two high school sons a summer holiday business using a cheap van to do moving jobs for friends and neighbours. She could not have guessed that one day that business would become an icon of perfection across the country.

Mary Ellen told her children to look after their customers and word would get around. It did, and today, that summer holiday business, launched with a $350 van and a lot of enthusiasm, is recognised as one of the top franchises in the U.S.

Franchisees pay a license fee of £29,950 and will need working capital. They’ll be expected to share the company vision of building a profitable business by delivering superior customer service in the moving industry and will be expected to have the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that demonstrates leadership. “They won’t be expected to do any huffing and puffing because we’ve sorted that already,” added Mike Harrison. “But they must be able to manage people.”