Member Article

New owner for established Staffordshire cleaning franchise

An award-winning, domestic cleaning business in Stafford is under new ownership after being bought out by a local, entrepreneurial couple.

Merry Maids of Stafford, which celebrated its 20th year in business this year, is a franchise of one the world’s leading and largest domestic cleaning companies, Merry Maids and is now under the management of Ian and Sarah Thomas. Both residents of Stafford, Ian has worked in the commercial cleaning industry for a number of years and Sarah was formerly employed at County Hospital in Stafford before joining the business.

Ian said: “We’ve always wanted to own our business together and having the opportunity to invest in an already establish business presented a massive opportunity for us. Merry Maids offers a very personal service and we’re excited to use our previous experience take this business to new heights, bringing in new customers and offering more employment opportunities for the people of Stafford.”

Merry Maids of Stafford has been based at Aquarius Business Centre on Peel Terrace since April 2015 and has cleaned more than 54,000 homes since its inception in 1996.

Catriona Berry, brand operations manager for Merry Maids added: “We’re delighted that Ian and Sarah have chosen to invest in Merry Maids and are the perfect new owners for the Stafford franchise. With their experience and local knowledge, we are confident the company will grow nicely into the future.”

Merry Maids is a franchise of ServiceMaster Ltd, which has been operating in the UK for over 55 years. Merry Maids of Stafford employs 19 local staff, serves over 180 regular customers across Stafford and Staffordshire and recently collected the ServiceMaster Award of Excellence for its performance in 2014. The business was also shortlisted for the national 2012 British Franchise Association HSBC Franchisee of the Year Award.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Burton .