you need a money trader, not a bank. presuming you have the lira available, contact the money trader and they will transfer from their bank in italy to the bank in UK. if you are transfering real money(over say 20,000 euro) the italian finance department may look at the transaction. the cost is quite reasonable. if the money trader does it, the cost is probably well under 2%, which i do not know if you consider low or high. you do have to trust the guy, because the money goes in one end and comes out the other. you do not need to convert the money. they do it. you can give them us dollars, and end up with british pounds in london. using them was the least expensive way for me to pay my london manufacturer. that transaction was done, dollars to dollars(probably to a private account)

i did a lot of these transfers, and the only places there are problems are countries with restricted currencies. india and Malaysia come to mind. i have not done these for 5 years or so since i sold my business, but if these guys are still in business, and you do not have to hold your money, i can find them and send you the contact.