Greenwich → Spain
Three quite different moves hide behind the same search. Which of them yours is changes the vehicle, the paperwork and the price — so this page starts by separating them.
Selling in London, buying in Spain, going for good.
A whole household on a dedicated vehicle, a transfer-of-residence customs entry, and the paperwork that goes with actually living there. The biggest loads we send south, and the ones that most reward starting early.
Keeping the Greenwich flat, furnishing an apartment on the coast.
Almost always a part load — Spanish properties sell part-furnished far more often than English ones, so the shipment is a fraction of a house. Worth knowing that this is not a transfer of residence and the customs position differs.
Selling in Spain, returning to south-east London.
A real and growing part of our Spanish work. The paperwork runs the other way, into UK customs, and the furniture usually needs more protection than it did going out — Spanish sun is hard on veneers and upholstery.
Out of Greenwich on the A102 or the A2, round the M25, down the M20, and across by tunnel or ferry. Then the long French leg — the A26 and A6 south, or the Atlantic side on the A10 if you are heading for the western border. Vehicles cross at Irun for Madrid, Galicia and the west, or at Le Perthus for Catalonia and the entire eastern coastline.
After the border it is the AP-7 down the Mediterranean coast, or the A-1 and A-4 for Madrid and Andalucía. Long days, driver rest respected, and an overnight planned in rather than hoped around.
The Spanish delivery is more often the difficult half than the drive. Underground car parks with height barriers a Luton will not pass, communities with restricted moving hours, lifts that need booking with an administrator, and inland villages with streets that were laid out for a mule. We check the address before the vehicle is planned, not after it has arrived.
Paperwork
We prepare and lodge the declaration. You supply the personal documents. Start with the first one on this list and the rest follows easily.
The Costa Blanca — Alicante, Jávea, Moraira, Denia and Torrevieja. The busiest destination on our Spanish book. Mostly apartments and villas, mostly part loads, mostly straightforward access on the urbanisations and considerably less so in the old villages inland.
The Costa del Sol — Málaga, Marbella, Estepona, Nerja. Apartment blocks with underground parking, which means shuttling as a matter of routine, and communities that restrict moving hours more often than anywhere else we deliver.
Valencia and the Costa Azahar — an increasing share of work relocations rather than retirements. City deliveries need an agreed window; the old quarters have streets no removal vehicle was designed for.
Inland Andalucía and Murcia — the pueblos people move to once the coast stops appealing. Steep, narrow, sometimes stepped. Planned as a small-van shuttle from the start.
Get the NIE. Ask the building about moving hours. Send us photographs of the delivery access — the street, the entrance, the lift. And decide early what is not going: Spanish properties are smaller on average than Greenwich houses, and the cheapest thing you can possibly ship is nothing.
Portugal shares most of this drive, and the hub page sets all four routes side by side.
By road. We load at your SE10, SE3 or SE7 address, run out via the A102 and the M25 to the M20 and the Channel, then drive down through France and cross at Irun in the west or Le Perthus in the east depending on your destination. Delivery is into the property, with furniture positioned and packaging taken away.
In practice yes — the customs entry is filed against it. It is not a difficult application but it does take time, and we have seen more Spanish loads held up waiting on an NIE than on anything else. Start it first.
Because Spanish customs expect specifics and a vague list invites questions. An inventory that describes contents rather than containers is the difference between a load that moves through and a load that sits. We write it at survey so the document and the vehicle match exactly.
Not directly, usually — the height restriction stops a large vehicle at the ramp. We park legally as close as we can, shuttle in with a smaller vehicle or trolleys, and use the building lift. That takes longer, and it is accounted for in the quote rather than discovered on the day.
Many communities do, and some require notice to the administrator. Send us the address early and we will find out rather than arrive hopeful.
Often not. Spanish kitchens are fitted differently, apertures vary, and a well-used machine is frequently cheaper to replace than to carry a thousand miles. We will give you a straight view at survey rather than quietly charging you for the space.
Yes, once the gas bottle is out and the barbecue is clean. Gas bottles themselves cannot travel under any circumstances, and that is not negotiable.
Yes, and it is common — Spanish conveyancing runs to its own timetable and the London end is frequently ready first. Storage here bridges it, and the load goes out when the notary date is confirmed.
Tell us the Greenwich address, the Spanish one, and whether you have your NIE yet. We will take it from there.