New export service paves way for easier trade route to Ireland

A new logistics service is available for East Anglian firms trading with the Republic of Ireland.

The Department for Business and Trade estimates that exports to Ireland from East Anglia and the East of England totalled £1.6bn in 2023.

To support this demand, local exporters are being supported with a new guaranteed service from Cambridge-based European road freight firm, Europa Road, part of Europa Worldwide Group.

The Cambridge team, which recently celebrated its second birthday, is based on Cambourne Business Park

Europa Road is offering the Europa Flow service – which ships goods using DDP incoterms – on all its daily routes between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, designed to remove post-Brexit challenges.

The company has invested over £1m in its infrastructure in Ireland to establish a dedicated team in Dublin and a specialist customs brokerage service to support it.

Andrew Baxter, CEO of Europa Worldwide Group, said: “With Ireland being Britain’s fourth largest export market, the increased complexity 

associated with the customs border, is preventing the seamless transportation of goods for British businesses.

“This is impacting transit times for our customers, increasing the amount of customs paperwork required, and could have costly and time-critical implications.

“These customs complexities pose a significant extra burden to all businesses – and particularly those SMEs who may be less likely to have the necessary resources and expertise to handle the additional paperwork.

“This is why we launched Europa Flow – to serve companies moving goods between Britain and Europe, providing a seamless transportation of goods between the two regions. Having initially launched Europa Flow in 2021 for mainland EU countries, the service – the first of its kind in Ireland – has now been extended to GB-Ireland trade.”

Europa Flow has delivered over 300,000 DDP consignments to mainland Europe, using a combination of DDP, postponed VAT accounting and anticipated declarations.

One recent manufacturer, who has trialled Europa Flow, says, “The new DDP service from Europa has been well received by our current Irish customers, in that the admin burden imposed on them has significantly decreased. It has also reopened some customer conversations that have been closed since Brexit occurred.”

Europa Road operates Britain’s largest European groupage ‘1Hub’ in Dartford, and ships more than 50 per cent of its consignments using the service.

Adrian Redmile, Branch and Sales Director at Europa Worldwide Group, added, “Despite the challenges that were presented as trade regulations changed post-Brexit, there is a cost-effective and efficient solution to ensuring seamless movement of goods.

“Over the last three years we have invested over £1m in our Irish infrastructure, more than £5m in Europa Flow in Europe and launched a Money Back Guarantee to better support British customers.

“These companies recognise that they cannot gamble their reputations by risking delays to deliveries emanating from incomplete paperwork, or disputes over the payment of VAT and customs duties.

“The service is proven to removing these issues and return the market to pre-Brexit transit times. We are also the only provider with sites in Britain and in Ireland offering a Money Back Guarantee on all Europa Flow shipments. This unique offer will ensure full refunds for consignments not delivered on time.”