The Problem We Walked Into
It was 1986.
The corporate relocation industry was growing fast. Companies were expanding globally. The big relocation firms were making significant money.
But Tony and Julia — who would go on to found LSS — were watching something closely. They watched a system take a company's full brief about an employee and pass it through a chain of subcontractors until the person on the other end received a file.
"The industry's financial incentive was structurally misaligned with your employee's outcome. Nobody was naming this. Nobody was fixing it."
So Tony and Julia built an alternative.
A File, Not a Conversation
The spouse's career anxiety didn't make it into the file. The child's school history didn't make it. The employee's worry about commute times — the exact reason their last move failed — was gone by handoff three.
Three Companies Removed
By the time a real person arrived at the employee's door, they were three companies removed from anyone who had actually listened to the original brief.
Complexity = Revenue
Traditional RMCs charged percentage markups on every service: shipping marked up 7%+, temporary housing marked up per night, undisclosed supplier rebates. The more complicated the move, the more they earned. An extended housing stay was not a problem — it was revenue.
The Breaking Point
Tony watched a relocating employee at the end of a multi-week process — visa filed, housing placed, file closed — clearly not settled. Clearly wishing they had said no to the move.
The relocation had ticked every box. But the family was in trouble. The spouse was isolated. The children were struggling at a school nobody had truly researched for them.
"Nobody in the chain owned what happened to that family after the file closed."
The Moment That Started Everything
The decision was not abstract.
That was the moment The Unbroken Chain™ was born — from one unshakeable conviction:
The person who understands your employee should be the same person who serves your employee. Not a subcontractor. Not a file recipient. The same person — from your briefing to month six.
In 1986, that conviction was the founding principle of LSS Relocation.
In 2026, after 38 years, it has not changed.
Section 3 — The Reality Every HR Director Knows
The Reality Every HR Director Already Knows
If you manage corporate relocations, you already know what the data confirms.
71% of failed relocations are caused by the family not settling — not logistics, not compliance.
NetExpat / EY Survey — 650 corporate HR respondents
The family failure rate is not a vendor quality problem. It is an architecture problem. The family fails because nobody in the chain actually knew the family.
A single failed international assignment costs up to $1.25 million.
International SOS / KPMG Return on Investment Report, 2024
The most expensive relocation is not the one that went over budget. It is the one where the employee left in month eight because their spouse never settled.
Hidden markups add £2,000+ to every move — buried inside pass-through invoices the client never audits.
UrbanBound independent research
LSS charges flat fees. What the supplier charges is what you pay — plus our transparent management fee. Nothing buried. Nothing marked up.
What We Believe — And How It Changes Everything
The Unbroken Chain™ is not a tagline. It is the operational consequence of beliefs that have not moved in 38 years.
"The RMC owns the contract. The DSP owns the task. The subcontractor owns the hour. Nobody owns the person." — The structural flaw we built LSS to eliminate.
The Team Behind LSS
We are a team of experienced relocation professionals, united by a commitment to The Unbroken Chain™.
Tony & Julia
Founders
Tony and Julia founded LSS Relocation in 1986 with a simple, powerful idea: that the person who understands the employee's needs should be the one serving them. They saw the systemic flaws in the traditional relocation model—the broken handoffs, the misaligned incentives, the focus on logistics over people—and built a company to solve them.
For 38 years, they have maintained that commitment, growing LSS steadily and deliberately, refusing to compromise on the quality of service or the integrity of The Unbroken Chain™.
Tony & Julia
Founders, LSS Relocation
The Future of Relocation
The industry is changing. The fundamental problem is not.
As technology advances and the global workforce becomes more mobile, the mechanics of relocation will inevitably evolve. But the core challenge—the human element—will remain the same.
No algorithm can comfort an anxious spouse. No app can navigate the nuances of a complex school search in a foreign city. The success of an international assignment will always depend on the quality of the human connection supporting it.
LSS Relocation is committed to remaining at the forefront of this industry, not by adopting every new trend, but by steadfastly defending The Unbroken Chain™.
Because when the family settles, the assignment succeeds.
Ready to Break the Chain?
Your next relocation should not feel like a risk management exercise. It should feel like a process that works. Book a free 30-minute Discovery Call today.
Start with a single move.
We earn the programme, or you walk away. There is no minimum volume commitment. Many clients run one move with LSS before transitioning their full programme — the Discovery Call gives you a clear onboarding timeline and zero pressure to commit before you're ready.