Professional biography
Steve O'Connor founded Smart Move Removals in 2011 after nearly a decade working for other removals firms across the North of England. What began as a two-van operation run out of a yard on the outskirts of Leeds has grown into one of the region's most-recommended independent movers — still family-run, still owner-led, and still built on the same idea it started with: the person quoting the move should be the person accountable for it on the day.
Steve personally surveys the majority of Smart Move's Leeds and West Yorkshire jobs. In practice that means walking the property with the customer, reading the access, checking the awkward pieces, and writing a fixed-price quote that accounts for the whole day — not just the drive. It is the reason Smart Move quotes stand up in chain-day conditions when other firms' hourly estimates start to unravel.
Beyond day-to-day removals, Steve is the editorial voice behind every guide on this site. If you are reading a piece on moving to Roundhay, the Headingley student HMO playbook, or the Leeds moving-cost breakdown, Steve has either written it or signed it off before publication.
Company history
- 2011
Smart Move Removals founded — first jobs are single-van residential moves across Leeds and West Yorkshire, run directly by Steve.
- 2014
Expansion into Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Fleet grows to three vehicles; first directly-employed removals crew joins full-time.
- 2018
Commercial and office relocations added as a dedicated service — weekend and out-of-hours moves for Leeds and North West businesses.
- 2021
Containerised storage brought in-house — chain-break moves no longer routed through third-party facilities.
- 2024–26
Leeds becomes the operational and editorial hub — flagship suburb coverage across Roundhay, Alwoodley, Adel, Moortown, Headingley and the wider LS postcode. Long-distance work runs UK-wide from the same base.
Qualifications and credentials
- Founded Smart Move Removals in 2011; has personally surveyed and managed more than 4,000 household and commercial moves.
- Operates to British Association of Removers (BAR) standard practice — protection materials, inventory, insurance limits and complaints handling.
- £1,000,000 public liability and £50,000 goods-in-transit insurance carried on every job, with named-item cover on request.
- GDPR-registered data controller (ICO). Every customer's data is handled to that standard.
- Directly employs the crews Smart Move sends — no agency, no subcontracting on residential and commercial work.
Areas of expertise
Chain-day timing
Coordinating five-property Yorkshire chains where keys land late in the afternoon and every household downstream is depending on the same 20-minute window.
Access surveys
Reading a property before moving day — gated drives, gravel, mansion-block lifts, conservation-area parking, single-track lanes and the shuttle-vehicle decisions that follow.
Piano, antique and fine-art handling
Uprights, baby grands, grandfather clocks, marble tops and framed art — the crating, wrapping and lifting practice that keeps them intact.
Commercial relocations
Weekend office and retail moves in Leeds, Manchester and Merseyside where the tenant needs to be trading on Monday morning without a missed beat.
Storage and chain breaks
Containerised storage between exchange and completion when a chain falls through — logistics that turn a crisis into an inconvenience.
Why customers trust Smart Move
Independently reviewed
Hundreds of verified 4.9★ reviews across Google, Trustpilot and Checkatrade — every one from a real Smart Move customer, not a curated selection.
Insurance you can actually claim on
£1m public liability and £50k goods-in-transit as standard. Policy documents shared on request before any booking is confirmed.
Named coordinator on every move
The person who quotes your move is the person you speak to on completion day — no call-centre, no ticket queue.
Fixed price, held to the quote
Every quote is written and fixed after a proper survey. Late keys, extra stairs and awkward loading do not change the price.
Read the customer feedback that sits behind these commitments on the Smart Move reviews page.
Editorial review process
How every guide on this site is written, reviewed and kept current.
- 01
Written from operational experience
Every guide starts as a working note from a real Smart Move job — a survey, a completion day, a chain that slipped, an access problem we had to solve on the pavement. Nothing is written from a keyword tool.
- 02
Reviewed against current practice
Before publication Steve reviews the piece against how Smart Move actually runs that type of job in 2026 — pricing bands, vehicle choice, insurance limits, crew size, parking rules — so the advice matches what a customer would experience if they booked us today.
- 03
Dated and re-checked quarterly
Every article carries a visible Published and Last Reviewed date. Costings, catchment notes, council parking rules and school admissions references are re-checked every quarter and updated in place — we do not silently republish stale content with a fresh date.
- 04
Corrections handled openly
If we get something wrong — a school catchment tightens, a parking scheme changes, a road layout is altered — the article is updated and the Last Reviewed date is moved. Material corrections are noted at the foot of the piece rather than hidden.