Go forth and multiply!

With over 30 years of success, experience and knowledge, established family business CleanMy looks to franchising to expand its operation nationally

When it comes to big markets in the UK, they don't come much bigger than the cleaning, janitorial & hygiene products supplies market. Estimated around the £3 billion mark, this industry not only provides a wealth of opportunity but also continues to grow year on year...even in a recession! As one of the country's leading independent suppliers of cleaning, janitorial and hygiene products, CleanMy is right at the heart of this huge market place.

This is the CleanMy story: In the late '60s Roy Williams finished life as a professional footballer and setup a small cleaning business in his home town of Hereford. He quickly grew the business to become a sizeable contract cleaning company. By the early '80s Clearview Cleaning Services employed over 400 staff and was one of the biggest contract cleaners in the region.

By this time, Roy's son Mark had also moved from a professional football career into the family business. As a result of the volume of cleaning, janitorial and hygiene products being consumed by Clearview, the company began to stock and sell the products independent to the cleaning contracts. By the early '90s this part of the business had grown to the extent that Mark formed a sister company, Clearview Industrial Supplies. Eventually the two companies went their separate ways while maintaining a healthy supplies relationship, Clearview Industrial Supplies continuing to successfully supply cleaning, janitorial and hygiene products from then on.

During this period of growth and success, Mark's son Ben had taken an interest in the family business. After a spell working in publishing in London, Ben joined the family business in 2005 as Managing Director with growth and further success in mind. In October 2007 he successfully re-branded the company to CleanMy and formed a board of directors from three key staff members who had given 20 years service each to the business.

The move to franchise the business is the most significant step in the recent history of the company. "Our franchise owners will be successful because they have the opportunity to trade in a massive marketplace with an infinite customer base while being supported by a head office team with over 30 years of experience," says Ben. "We may be a new franchise opportunity but we are a long established company with a proven track record and solid infrastructure.

"The level of support we aim to give our franchise owners is unique, taking away so much of the tedious and obstructive elements of running a business that often drag time away from the most important aspect of them all: selling." CleanMy has recently began recruiting franchise owners and is putting particular emphasis on the Wales, Midlands and South West regions, although the company welcomes interest from all areas.