Starting a removals company is one of the more accessible routes into self-employment in the UK: the barrier to entry is lower than most trades, you do not need formal qualifications, and demand is consistent year-round. But "accessible" does not mean "free." You still need a van, insurance, equipment, and a way to find customers.
This guide breaks down every realistic cost category for 2026, with honest low and high estimates. Whether you are planning a lean man-and-van operation or a multi-vehicle removals company, the numbers below will help you build a startup budget you can trust. For the full step-by-step journey from idea to first booking, see our companion guide on how to start a removals business.
Vehicle Costs: £5,000 to £15,000+
Your van or truck is the single biggest line item. Most first-time operators choose one of three routes:
- Used long-wheelbase panel van (Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Volkswagen Crafter): £5,000 to £12,000. The entry-level workhorse for man-and-van work. Handles one-bedroom and two-bedroom moves comfortably.
- Used 3.5-tonne Luton box van: £8,000 to £15,000. The professional choice for full domestic moves. A tail-lift adds roughly £1,000 to £2,000 to the price but saves your back and speeds up loading considerably.
- Used 7.5-tonne truck: £12,000 to £25,000. For operators targeting larger properties from day one. Requires a Category C1 driving licence (many drivers over 45 already hold this on their existing licence) and may need an operator licence depending on how you structure the business.
Our recommendation for most new operators: a used 3.5-tonne Luton in sound mechanical condition with fewer than 120,000 miles. Budget £10,000 to £12,000 and you will find a reliable vehicle that handles the vast majority of domestic moves without requiring a special licence.
Leasing as an alternative: monthly payments of £250 to £600 depending on the vehicle. Leasing reduces the upfront lump sum and keeps cash in the bank, but it commits you to ongoing payments whether or not you have work. Most operators who start lean prefer to buy outright and upgrade later once revenue is steady.
Insurance: £1,700 to £3,900 per Year
Insurance is mandatory and non-negotiable. Three policies are essential from day one:
- Goods in Transit (GIT): £400 to £800 per year for £15,000 to £35,000 cover per load. This protects your customers' belongings while they are in your care.
- Public Liability: £300 to £600 per year for £1 million to £5 million cover. Protects you if a customer, member of the public, or property is damaged during a move.
- Commercial vehicle insurance: £1,000 to £2,500 per year depending on the vehicle's age, your age, driving history, and location.
Shop around and use a specialist commercial insurance broker rather than a comparison site. Premiums for brand-new businesses are higher in year one and typically fall in year two once you have a clean claims history. For a detailed rundown of what each policy covers and which providers specialise in the removals sector, see our post on removals insurance explained.
Equipment: £300 to £600
You need the basics from day one, but equipment is one area where you can start small and add as your services grow:
- Furniture blankets and quilted pads (12 to 20): £100 to £200
- Ratchet straps and assorted rope: £40 to £80
- Sack truck: £40 to £80
- Furniture dolly: £30 to £60
- Mattress bags and sofa covers: £20 to £40
- Basic tool kit (screwdrivers, Allen keys, spanners): £30 to £50
- Floor protection runners: £15 to £30
- Bubble wrap, tape, and packing materials: £20 to £40
- High-vis vests, gloves, and a first aid kit: £20 to £30
Buy quality where it matters: blankets and ratchet straps take daily punishment, and cheap versions will not survive a season. A decent sack truck is worth the extra spend; you will use it on every single job. Add specialist equipment like piano boards, stair climbers, and wardrobe boxes later as your job types and revenue expand.
Branding and Signage: £270 to £740
- Van livery (vinyl graphics): £200 to £600 for professional sign-writing. Even basic livery showing your company name, phone number, and website transforms credibility overnight.
- Business cards: £20 to £40 for 500
- Branded workwear (polo shirts or fleeces): £50 to £100
Van livery is the single best-value marketing you will do. Your vehicle is a mobile billboard that works every time you drive or park it. A clean, clearly branded van parked on a residential street generates enquiries without you lifting a finger.
Software and Job Management: £0 to £50 per Month
This is the cost category where new operators historically either overspend or dangerously underspend. Some pay £50 or more per month for generic field-service software that was never designed for removals work. Others rely on memory, notebooks, and WhatsApp threads: that works until a double-booking, a lost quote, or a missed follow-up costs them a customer and a Google Review.
The good news: purpose-built removals software no longer needs to cost anything at startup. Move and Store was designed from the ground up for UK removals and self-storage businesses. The Free plan (£0, forever) includes:
- Quoting wizard with room-by-room inventory and automatic pricing
- Customer-facing quote portal: your customers can view, accept, and pay deposits online
- CRM and lead tracking
- Storage unit management (if you offer storage alongside removals)
- Online payment collection via Stripe: deposits, balances, and storage payments
There is no time limit on the free tier and no catch; the platform earns a 5% transaction fee on payments processed. That means your software line in the startup budget can genuinely be £0, and you still have a professional system handling quotes, customer communication, and payment collection from day one.
As your operation grows, Move and Store's paid plans unlock additional tools: Pro (£29/month) adds automated follow-ups, automated Google Review requests, unlimited quotes, and a lower 2% transaction fee. Scale (£79/month) adds custom branding, API access, a free website build, and just 0.5% on transactions. But the core toolkit you need at launch is included for free.
Do You Need Accounting Software Too?
Many guides list accounting software (FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero: typically £12 to £35 per month) as a startup essential. Those are solid products, but it is worth knowing that Move and Store already handles invoicing and payment collection. In practice, a sole operator in their first few months can manage bookkeeping with a simple spreadsheet alongside Move and Store's payment records, then add dedicated accounting software later when the volume of transactions justifies it. That pushes your first-year software cost even lower.
Marketing and Getting Your First Customers: £50 to £850
No customers, no business. Here are the realistic early-stage marketing options, roughly ordered by cost-effectiveness:
Free and Low-Cost Channels
- Google Business Profile: Free. Absolutely essential for appearing in local "near me" searches. Set it up on day one and start collecting Google Reviews from every satisfied customer: reviews are the single biggest driver of local search visibility.
- Word of mouth and social media: Free. Post before-and-after photos, share tips, join local community Facebook groups. This takes time but compounds.
- Simple website: £0 to £500. A free builder like Carrd or WordPress.com works at a pinch. A local web designer charges £500 to £2,000 for something more polished. Move and Store's Scale plan includes a free professionally built website, which is worth considering if you are planning to grow quickly.
Paid Lead Generation
- Google Ads: £100 to £300 per month. Highly effective for local intent searches like "man and van in [your town]." You only pay when someone clicks, and you can start and stop the budget at any time.
- Lead platforms (Checkatrade, Bark, AnyVan, Compare the Man and Van): £30 to £100 per month. These platforms deliver leads quickly and are a reliable way to fill your diary in the early weeks. The trade-off is that lead fees eat into your margins on each job, and you are competing with other operators for the same enquiry. They work well as a starter engine while you build direct enquiries through reviews and your own website.
- Leaflets and local advertising: £50 to £150 for an initial batch. Old-fashioned but still effective in specific areas, especially around estate agents and letting agencies.
An Alternative: Managed Google Ads for Removals
If managing your own Google Ads account feels overwhelming, Move and Store offers a "Phones Ringing" add-on pack at £50 per month. It bundles a managed, geo-targeted Google Ads campaign using call-only ads designed specifically for removals companies. Calls are tracked in your Move and Store dashboard, so you can see exactly what your ad spend is generating. It is not a replacement for Checkatrade or Bark; it works well alongside them as a complementary channel that drives direct phone enquiries rather than shared leads.
Registration and Legal: £40 to £52
- Sole trader registration: Free (register with HMRC online)
- Limited company registration: £12 via Companies House
- ICO data protection registration: £40 per year (required if you store customer data digitally)
- Business bank account: Free with most banks for the first 12 to 18 months
If you are operating above 3.5 tonnes, you will also need an operator licence (known as an O-licence): the application fee is £401. For a full guide to licensing and regulatory requirements, our post on UK removals company licensing covers every scenario.
Working Capital: Your Hidden Startup Cost
One cost category most "startup costs" articles miss is working capital: the cash you need to cover bills and living expenses while you build the business. Even if you land your first booking in week one, payments take time to flow, and there will be quiet weeks.
A sensible buffer is three months of personal living expenses plus one month of business overheads. For a sole operator, that might mean £3,000 to £6,000 in reserve. You do not need to lock this away; just make sure it exists and that you factor it into your startup figure.
Tools that speed up payment collection help here. Move and Store's online payment system lets you collect deposits at the point of booking and balances before or on the day of the move, which shortens the gap between quoting and receiving cash.
Total Startup Cost Estimate: 2026
Here is the full picture for a sole operator starting with a used 3.5-tonne Luton:
| Category | Low Estimate | High Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle (used Luton) | £8,000 | £15,000 |
| Insurance (year one) | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Equipment | £300 | £600 |
| Branding and signage | £270 | £740 |
| Software (first year) | £0 | £600 |
| Marketing (first three months) | £150 | £2,550 |
| Registration and legal | £40 | £52 |
| Working capital reserve | £3,000 | £6,000 |
| Total | ~£13,500 | ~£29,450 |
Strip out the working capital reserve and the core startup cost sits between £10,500 and £23,450. If you already own a suitable van, subtract £8,000 to £15,000 from those figures: you could be up and running for under £5,000.
Where to Cut Costs Without Cutting Corners
The areas where you can save the most without hurting your business:
- Software: Use a free tier like Move and Store instead of paying for generic field-service tools. This saves £300 to £600 in year one alone.
- Marketing: Start with Google Business Profile and word of mouth before committing to paid directories. Add paid channels once you know your conversion numbers.
- Equipment: Buy gradually. Start with blankets, straps, and a sack truck. Add specialist kit (piano boards, stair climbers) only when those job types start coming in.
- Accounting: Lean on Move and Store's invoicing and Stripe payment records in the early months. Add dedicated accounting software when your transaction volume warrants it.
The areas where you should not cut corners:
- Insurance: Non-negotiable. Operating without goods-in-transit or public liability insurance puts you, your customers, and your business at serious risk.
- Vehicle reliability: A breakdown on moving day destroys your reputation faster than any bad review. Buy a well-maintained vehicle even if it costs a bit more upfront.
- Professional presentation: Van livery, branded workwear, and a clear process for quoting and booking all signal that you are a serious operator, not a man with a mate and a Transit.
Next Steps
Knowing the numbers is the first step. If you are ready to move forward:
- Plan the full launch: our guide on how to start a removals business walks through every step from registration to landing your first customers.
- Understand the legal side: read UK removals company licensing to make sure you have the right documentation before you start trading.
- Sort your insurance early: our removals insurance guide explains what you need and where to find specialist policies.
- Get your quoting and payments set up for free: create a free Move and Store account and start sending professional quotes from day one.