We already work with UK buyers — here is the honest set-up
DirectPAL has no UK warehouse and does not pretend to. Our 3 storage sites are in the Paris region, France, and the arrangement we already run with UK buyers is ex-works: your forwarder collects the load at our depot — usually Mitry-Mory (77), directly connected to the A1 — and manages the Channel crossing. From our gates, the routing is the shortest freight corridor in Europe: A1 to Arras, A26 to Calais (≈ 290 km), then Eurotunnel or the Dover–Calais ferry. London is roughly 460 km door to door; the Midlands around 640 km.
We can also quote a delivered full truckload (DAP on your site) when you prefer a single price. In that case the quote states the export formalities and an all-in lead time we can actually hold — never a blanket promise with the customs hours discovered afterwards.
ISPM 15: non-negotiable for Great Britain since Brexit
Since 1 January 2021, all wood packaging material entering England, Scotland and Wales from the EU must be heat-treated and ISPM 15-marked: 56 °C at the core for 30 minutes, IPPC mark branded into the wood (wheat-ear pictogram, FR country code, approved producer number, HT method). Non-compliant loads risk being refused or impounded at the border at the shipper's expense. One useful nuance: Northern Ireland remains aligned with EU plant-health rules, so ISPM 15 is not required for EU-to-NI flows — rules evolve, and we confirm the requirement with every quote. Every pallet we offer for Great Britain is compliant; the details are in our ISPM 15 guide and the ISPM 15 country list 2026.
Customs, in plain terms
A shipment from France to the UK is an export outside the EU: our invoice is issued without French VAT, subject to proof of export. On the UK side, the importer needs a GB EORI number and accounts for UK import VAT — typically through postponed VAT accounting. On tariffs, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement grants zero duty to goods of EU preferential origin with a statement on origin: our pallets are made from French wood and repaired in France (100 % French sourcing), which keeps that paperwork simple. We prepare the commercial invoice, packing list, origin statement and CMR in English; your customs broker — or one we recommend — files the declarations.
Which pallets UK buyers order from us
The whole catalogue is available for the UK, with one practical remark: new one-way pallets and custom-built pallets are the easiest to supply heat-treated from stock or production, while reconditioned EPAL pallets are supplied ISPM 15-marked as standard EPAL production requires heat treatment. And we sell outright — no pool contracts, no exchange bookkeeping:
- EPAL Euro pallets — 1200×800 mm, grade 1 and grade 2, from €10.50 excl. VAT (grade 1)
- One-way pallets — 80×120 and 100×120, light to heavy, from €3.80 excl. VAT — new timber, heat treatment on order
- CP chemical pallets CP1 to CP9 — ECTA/VCI standard for chemical and pharma flows
- Half & quarter pallets — 800×600 and 600×400 mm, display and retail
- Heavy-duty pallets — dynamic loads from 750 to 1,500 kg
- Custom pallets — your dimensions and load ratings, built new with ISPM 15 treatment and marking
Who this offer suits in the UK
Full truckloads of pallets from France make sense for importers and 3PLs around the big southern gateways (Dover corridor, London Gateway, Felixstowe hinterland), manufacturers in the South East and the Midlands running steady export flows back to the EU, food and drink processors, and UK forwarders consolidating French freight who add pallets to a backhaul truck. We name sectors, not clients — and if a UK enquiry is below a truckload with no consolidation option, we say so rather than quote a freight cost that makes no sense.
