Europa Road expands European footprint with first daily UK-Portugal freight service

Market-leading European road freight operator, Europa Road[1], has strengthened its position, becoming the first to launch a DAILY round-trip service from the UK to Portugal. Part of independent, ambitious transport operator Europa Worldwide Group[2], Europa Road's expansion is aimed at strengthening its European network and supporting UK exporters amid growing demand for faster, more efficient cross-border trade. Offering daily delivery schedules and a full range of transport options for British customers, Europa Road identified Porto-based market leader XBS as a strong new partner to help build volumes between the two countries.

Europa's goal has always been to work with the best local European partners. These strategic collaborations enable the company to enhance its services and achieve the volumes necessary to offer the daily departures demanded by customers. Europa has continuously developed its routes and partnerships across Europe, using best-in-class local partners.

Though a relatively small market, exports from the UK to Portugal are growing; the latest figures show the value of exports from the UK to Portugal (to the end of Q2 2025) were worth GBP4.0 billion[3] (an increase of 14.2 per cent compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024). Europa Road has invested in its operation to provide the best system available for distributing goods between the UK and Europe. Its purpose-built GBP60m transit hub in Dartford provides daily services between the UK and Europe, serving more than 42 continental hubs and handling over 40,000 consignments per month.

Commenting on the new enhanced daily service to Portugal, Dan Cook, Operations Director at Europa Worldwide Group[4], said: "We have chosen XBS to partner as our values are very much aligned, they are a dynamic and ambitious operator who have rapidly built substantial volumes to and from the UK through a focus on growth. "We see a great opportunity to combine our strengths to establish a dependable daily service in both directions, delivering real value and choice for customers.  This expanded capacity and quicker transit times will drive stronger links, delivering smoother, more efficient trade between the two countries." As well as increased frequency and speed of door-to-door delivery, the partnership will provide UK customers with improved visibility and seamless delivery of consignments.  Supported by advanced, in-house, software systems, Europa Road delivers speed, compliance, and quality that UK businesses need.

Miguel Monteiro at XBS added, "We're proud to announce our new partnership with Europa, enhancing our international network and making logistics between Portugal and the UK faster, smarter, and more efficient than ever. Through this collaboration, we strengthen our mission to deliver reliable, flexible, and customer-focused transport solutions across Europe." Exporters to Portugal will benefit from Europa's customs support, with over 100 in-house customs specialists working across the EU and UK, enabling British businesses to trade seamlessly with Europe.

Europa Worldwide Group comprises Europa Road, Europa Air & Sea and Europa Warehouse.

Its expert European road freight division has 15 dedicated branches across the UK and Ireland, as well as teams in the EU.[5][6][7]

References

1. ^ Europa Road (www.europa-worldwide.com)
2. ^ Europa Worldwide Group (www.europa-worldwide.com)
3. ^ GBP4.0 billion (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
4. ^ Dan Cook, Operations Director at Europa Worldwide Group (www.linkedin.com)
5. ^ Europa Road (www.europa-worldwide.com)
6. ^ Europa Air & Sea (www.europa-worldwide.com)
7. ^ Europa Warehouse (www.europa-worldwide.com)