Changes in the Portugal Government’s licensing laws covering Car Boot sales have forced Amovate to reluctantly cancel our Car Boots during the winter months.

These changes have made the traditional car boots too expensive to be viable. It meant we could not afford to host commercial traders who had always been an integral part of our car boot operations. Amovate tried to adapt by ruling that stallholders could sell unwanted household items only—no goods grown, made or bought for profit.

This, of course, significantly reduced the number of stalls on site each month and made it less appealing to the customers visiting our sales.

We then found that numbers dwindled even further in the winter months, to the point of being uneconomical, and the November sale was washed out completely by heavy rains.

Amovate therefore decided that in future the car boots would be suspended for the winter period. We offered one of the supporting charities the opportunity to run the sales through these months but that offer was declined.

The suspension of sales will cover the months of December, January, February and March which means the next Car Boot at Amovate, for which notice will be given well in advance, will be held on Sunday April 3, 2016.

Please make a note of the date in your diary.