Christine

Nichols

Christine is the Chairman of The London Freight Club. The first women to hold this position in its 70 year history. She is also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of Women In Transport and an Ambassador for Everywomen.

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About

Christine is a leading entrepreneur in the transport and logistics industry and a founder of Atlantic Pacific Group and its charitable foundation, ‘Unity In Community’. She is a trustee (Chair elect) of the Lady McAdden Breast Cancer Trust, a member of Southend-on-Sea’s Tourism Partnership Board and was also the first women to be ‘Lady’ Chairman of the London Freight Club.

Christine is a seasoned world traveller having visited over 50 counties, and has worked in Cyprus, Australia and New Zealand. She has been a foster carer, cancer survivor and is a champion for visual and performing arts. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a member of The Institute of Export, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Ambassador for Everywomen. Christine is an industry speaker and panellist, talking about diversity, equality and inclusion and is also a frequent speaker for the British International Freight Association (BIFA) at their Young Forwarders Network (YFN) meetings. Christine was invited to be a member of the judging panel of the Everywomen Women in Transport Awards in 2023, and 2024,

The Arts

Supporting

Performing Arts

Christine Nichols has a love of visual and performing arts which she supports by championing community events showcasing these art forms.

She believes in the philosophy that the arts have a major part to play in creating a sense of identity and pride, and in making an effective contribution to creating or regenerating strong, cohesive and vibrant communities.

Sport

Championing
Sport

Through Atlantic Pacific Group, Christine has chosen to support several sporting causes, via sponsorship, attendance, promotion and association.

As well as sponsoring US college tour golfer Max Reynolds, the Group are partners with Billericay Town Women’s & Girl’s FC and currently sponsor the match day programme, and she has become a ‘Wave Maker’ for the club. The Wave Makers circle provides support and mentorship to over 300 of the club’s women and girls.

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Business

Chrissy is a founder, owner and director of Atlantic Pacific Group Ltd which includes, Atlantic Pacific Global Logistics in the UK, Ireland & USA. Port Express, Killick Martin & Company and Freedom Logistics.

The group companies employ over 250 staff, with each company specialising in a different field that comes together to provide a complete range of national and international logistics services, including ocean freight, air freight, road freight, rail freight, container transport, warehousing and supply chain services.

FEBE 100
2023 Awards

Atlantic Pacific Group has been listed by FEBE (For Entrepreneurs By Entrepreneurs) www.febe.com as 21st in their 2023 awards ranking as one of the top 100 fastest growing founder lead companies in the UK with turnovers between £3 Million and £200 Million pa.

Fast Growth 50
2024 Awards

Atlantic Pacific Group makes a top 10 entrance into the first ever list of the fifty fastest growing companies in the Midlands and the East of England by the UK Fast Growth 50 Index in 2024.

From Birmingham to Cambridge and from Shropshire to Essex, the inaugural Fast Growth 50 list for the Midlands and the East of England collectively generated £3.2 billion in turnover in 2022, employing 5,267 individuals. Between 2020 and 2022, these companies achieved an additional £2.1 billion in turnover, at an average growth rate of 202 percent. These firms not only achieved financial success but also created 2,186 new jobs in just two years, reflecting a 70 percent workforce expansion as the region’s economy recovered from the Covid pandemic.

King’s Award
For Enterprise 2024

Christine was absolutely thrilled when Atlantic Pacific received the much coveted King’s Award For Enterprise in the International Trade category 2024.

In a confirmation statement from the government, Atlantic Pacific was advised that His Majesty The King had approved the Prime Minister’s recommendation to award the accolade, which is widely considered to be the most prestigious award available to UK businesses.

The announcement followed a rigorous and demanding government auditing process, during which we demonstrated an excellent compliance record with HMRC, strong environmental and governance practices, outstanding acceleration in overseas revenue, and substantial growth.

BIFA Young Forwarders Network (YFN)

YFN

Christine is delighted to work closely with the British International Freight Association’s (BIFA’s) Young Forwarders Network (YFN).

Christine has been guest speaker, sharing experiences gained from almost 50 years in the industry, and will be attending Multimodal 2024 with BIFA and the YFN in Birmingham during June 2024.

The YFN enables participants to enhance their career by providing opportunities to support their professional development through exclusive events, boosting knowledge, sharing skills, advice, and experiences from industry professionals, and providing visits to places of industry interest.

Charities & Foundations

Unity In Community

Christine is the founder and executive Chairwoman of the Unity In Community foundation.

Unity in Community is the charitable foundation of Atlantic Pacific Group and supports both local and national based charities, along with aret, culture and sports community events.

https://unityincommunity.com/

Lady McAdden

Christine is a Director and Trustee of Lady McAdden Breast Cancer Trust.

The Trust was named in honour of Lady Dorothy McAdden, wife of Sir Stephen McAdden MP, and opened the UK’s first breast screening unit in 1976. Today, its services support the early detection of breast cancer, through advice, education and awareness.

https://ladymcadden.org/

Haven’s Hospices

Chrissy is a keen supporter, and regular sponsor of various events for Havens Hospices, which incorporates Fair Havens, Little Havens and J’s Hospices.

Atlantic Pacific Group and its charitable foundation ‘Unity In Community’ have also been logistics partners and a main sponsor for their 2021 and 2023 Art Trail’s ‘Hares About Town’ and ‘Herd In The City’ which have collectively raised over £1,000,000.

The two individual works of art that Atlantic Pacific Group commissioned for the trails were both purchased and are on public display.

https://www.havenshospices.org.uk/

Selfie On Sea

Christine has been heavily involved in the set up and build of Selfie-On-Sea, Southend’s wonderful new charitable project at the Royals Shopping Centre. The project raises funds for ‘Lady McAdden Breast Cancer Trust’ and offers a fantastic opportunity for selfies.

As a Trustee of Lady McAdden, she has been one of the driving forces behind the Selfie-on-Sea project, providing logistical support and sponsorship through Atlantic Pacific. Christine is helping to staff the store as a volunteer too.

Events

Lumino City Southend (2023)

A Fantastic Light Festival brightening up Southend in February 2023, allowing visitors to experience the city in a whole new light.

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Herd In The City (2023)

Herd In The City will see 50 large elephant sculptures displayed throughout Southend in 2023, raising funds for Havens Hospices.

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Voluntary Awards (2023)

The Basildon Council Voluntary Awards were sponsored by Unity and Christine presented the Project of the Year award.

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FNC Network Conference (2023)

Freight Network Corporation (FNC) annual conference, speaking to members of 400 global companies.

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Hares About Town (2021)

Hares About Town was a spectacular ‘Wild-In-Art’ public event that weaved its way across Southend on Sea raising over £500,000 for Havens Hospices.

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Gratitude Art Display (2021)

Gratitude was a national public art display, celebrating the extrordinary stories of covid-19, rasing over £200,000 for the NHS.

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Global Village (2014-2022)

Held anually at Hadleigh Country Park, Southend-on-Sea, the event includes interactive workshops, demonstrations and a wide range of artists.

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Village Green (2014-2019)

Village Green is a multi-art form and music festival, held in the picturesque grounds of a beautiful Victorian park in Chalkwell, Essex.

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Tourism Partnership

Christine is a member of the City of Southend-on-Sea’s Tourism Partnership promoting tourism in Southend and organising a number of fantastic events including CityJam, Luminosity and the Halloween Parade. These events have also been supported by Atlantic Pacific Group and its charitable foundation Unity In Community.

Extending Cultural Ties and Tourism with Twinned Cities

Christine recently had the privilege of visiting Sopot in Poland, twinned with Southend-on-Sea, (her home town). Sopot has the longest wooden pier in Europe, and Southend the longest pleasure pier in the world. She went on a personal trip to see friends, but whilst there, as a member of the Southend Tourism Partnership Board, she was keen to meet with her local counterpart Katarzyna (Kate) Choczaj from Sopot’s Tourism Board.

She also had the opportunity to meet Sopot’s Mayor Magdalena Czarzyńska – Jachim and presented her with an image of Porters Lodge, the Southend Mayor’s Civic House on behalf of Ron Woodley, Southend’s Mayor.

October 2024 marks the 25th Anniversary of Southend twinning with Sopot and Christine was able to discuss ideas for marking the anniversary, but in the meantime encourages everybody to visit this beautiful Polish Seaside City twinned with Southend.

Community Organisations

Chalkwell Lifeguards

Chrissy supports Chalkwell Lifeguards, an independant volunteer beach, safety, patrol and rescue unit based near to Southend on Sea, Essex

Essex Cultural Diversity

Chrissy works closely on certain events with Essex Cultural Diversity Project, who energise cultural diversity in arts and heritage.

The Ironworks

Through Unity In Community, Chrissy has arranged sponsorship of the art within The Ironworks – Southend’s latest Arts and Culture Venue.

London Freight Club

Christine Nichols became Chairwomen of The London Freight Club in February 2023, the first women to hold this position in the Club’s 70 year history.

The London Freight Club formed in 1953 is the UK’s leading club for people in the freight forwarding, shipping and logistics industry. The club organises 7 lunches annually at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Great Queens Street, London, and provides an opportunity for its members to meet and raise money for charitable causes.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised over the years, and considerable donations of gift’s. Many of these lunches have attendances in excess of 500 people.

The London Freight Club has been awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2017 by Lloyd’s List, and two of its Honorary Secretaries have been awarded ‘Lifetime Achievement Awards’ by the British International Freight Association.