28th September 2026
Indicative Peak and Festive Period Opening Hours 2026
At ILG, we are busy preparing for the peak trading period which is fast approaching. If you expect an increase in trade during the final quarter of the calendar year and you haven’t already shared your peak forecasts with us, we would be grateful if you could share these with your ILG contact at the earliest opportunity. This is so we can factor any uplift in volume and activity into our plans. Our teams will also be following up with you on this front if they haven’t already, so we appreciate your support here.
Below you will find our indicative opening hours and operational plans during this period, as well as the provisional recommended shipping dates for delivery in time for Christmas. Please note that these are subject to change as we await final confirmation from our carriage partners, but we hope these are of use for now.
As a business we are open seven days a week from many of our sites operationally. This means that we will be dispatching orders over the weekend and as such our suppliers will be collecting from us. Consignments may enter the network over the weekend for delivery on either Monday or Tuesday in the following week.
Client Services Opening Hours
Our UK based client services team will be open and operational on all days except weekends and public holidays:
- Up to 23rd December 2026 – Normal opening and collection times
- 24th December 2026 – Client services support available from 8:30am to 3:00pm. Last carrier collections expected around 2:00pm to meet the trailer connections
- 25th – 28th December 2026 – Closed
- 29th & 30th December 2026 – Normal opening and collection times
- 31st December 2026 – Client services support available from 8:30am to 3:00pm. Last carrier collections expected around 2:00pm to meet the trailer connections
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd January 2027 – Closed
- From 4th January 2027 – Normal opening and collection times resume
Our Poland based client services team will be open and operational on all days except weekends and bank holidays:
- Up to 23rd December 2026 – Normal opening and collection times
- 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th December – Closed
- 28th, 29th, 30th – Normal opening and collection times
- 31st December 2026 – Client services support available from 8:30am to 3:00pm. Last carrier collections expected around 2:00pm to meet the trailer connections.
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd January 2027 – Closed
- 4th and 5th January 2027- Normal opening and collection times
- 6th January 2027 – Closed
- From 7th January – Normal opening and collection times resume
Public Holidays and Associated Closures
During November and December, our operations will also likely be closed on all public holidays as follows. Should this change, we will let you know but we ask you to plan that our operations teams will be closed on the following days:
UK:
- December 2026: 25th, 26th, 27th & 28th December 2026 (Christmas Day & Boxing Day)
- January 2027: 1st January 2027 (New Years Day)
Poland:
- November 2026: 2nd November 2026 (in lieu of All Saints Day falling on Sunday 1st) and 11th November 2026 (Independence Day)
- December 2026: 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th December 2026 (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and 2nd Day of Christmas)
- January 2027: 1st January 2027 (New Years Day) and 6th January 2027 (Epiphany)
Provisional Last Shipping Dates
Our carriers are still working on their finalised shipping dates but please see below our provisional last recommended shipping dates by destination for delivery in time for Christmas.
ILG UK Clients (for shipments ex our UK facilities)
UK Shipments
For pallet deliveries, the last collection is likely to be Monday 21st for delivery on Tuesday 22nd December 2026. The pallet network will then be closed throughout the festive period and no collections will resume until 4th January 2027. If you have pallet deliveries through this period, we can instead utilise a same day dedicated vehicle.
Europe – Pending Customs Clearance
USA, Australia, Rest of World – Pending Customs Clearance
ILG Poland Clients (for shipments ex our Poland facilities)
Poland Shipments
Europe
All Rest of World Destinations – Pending Customs Clearance
Additional Information and Questions
- Please note that from 1st November 2026 we advise against the use of timed deliveries as many carriers phase out these time definitive services throughout the peak trading period to maintain continuity of service.
- Given how busy we expect this trading period to be, we would ask that you review the delivery timescales on your websites and extend these where possible. This will help ensure that you and your customers are not disappointed if deliveries are delayed.
- Please visit the Customer Hub and Fuel and Accessorial Charges pages on our website to find information regarding carrier accessorials, surcharges and other information.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the ILG team. We wish you a great end to 2026 and a successful peak trading period.