On 3rd November 2025, John Mason International, one of the UK’s oldest and most respected international moving companies will make a move of its own. After more than a decade in Hemel Hempstead, the company will relocate its southern operations to a new 56,515 sq ft super-hub at the Queen Elizabeth Distribution Park in Thurrock.
The relocation marks a major milestone in the company’s 141 year history. Known for delivering more than 10,000 international moves every year, John Mason International has built its reputation on helping families and businesses take their biggest steps in life. Now, it is the company itself that is taking a leap, one designed to strengthen its position as the UK’s leading name in global moving.
The new Thurrock base could not be better placed: just 1.2 miles from the M25, 16 miles from the M11, and only 11 miles from London Gateway, Britain’s key deep-sea port. The facility, based at AGM Group’s Thurrock site, offers unrivalled access for imports and exports, with seven dock level doors, four level access doors, and loading across two elevations.
From November, all southern trade groupage will run through the site, with imports received and exports loaded directly at Thurrock. The result is a purpose-built hub designed to handle scale, speed, and growth, ensuring faster and more efficient services for clients across the world.
Russell Start, CEO at AGM Group, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome John Mason International into AGM Groups central logistic centre in Thurrock. The Thurrock hub, which is strategically located just minutes from London Gateway, will improve logistic capacity and service synergies between our organisations and enhance our ability to service the needs of our valued customers alike.
For John Mason International, the move is about much more than logistics. It’s about ambition. The company, which recently won the King’s Award for Enterprise, is also investing heavily in the North, with construction already under way on a brand-new headquarters in Liverpool. Together, the two projects represent the most significant expansion in the company’s modern history, a bold double investment designed to power the next generation of growth.
Simon Hood, Executive Director at John Mason International, said: “This is a turning point for us. Thurrock gives us scale, connectivity, and a modern facility that matches our ambition. After years of searching, we’ve found the perfect southern base. Combined with our new HQ build in Liverpool, this move marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, one where we’re stronger, faster, and better placed than ever to serve our clients across the globe.”
From its beginnings in Liverpool in 1884 to becoming a modern, award-winning leader in international relocation, John Mason International has always been about movement, change, and new chapters. And now, by moving itself, the company is writing the next one.
Because sometimes, even the movers who move the world need to move themselves – and when they do, they make it count.