Tech-led cleaning startup in Newcastle gets £35k backing for national rollout

A tech-led cleaning and domestic services platform in North Tyneside has received a £35k investment from the North East Small Loan Fund.

Cleanily uses web and smartphone technology to connect independent cleaning professionals with potential customers.

The firm worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to secure the five-figure boost, which will support the launch of its service in an initial 10 locations around the UK, including Durham and Northumberland.

Cleanily will also put the funding towards a recruitment drive at its head office.

Cleaners use Cleanily technology at the start and end of each job they carry out. A GPS system confirms each service provider’s location and payments from clients to cleaners are made automatically when a job is marked as complete.

Cleanily’s founder and managing director, Edward Newton, is originally from the North East. He returned to the region in 2016 after running and selling a business in Dubai.

Edward commented: “I noticed companies like Amazon and Google disrupting the home services market in the US, and began to look at the UK market for domestic cleaning.

“Traditionally, cleaning businesses have scaled by selling franchises, whereas we’re using a technology platform. That’s not to say human interaction between both our customers and cleaners isn’t essential though.”

He added: “We are not an online, ‘on-demand’ model, as unlike booking a taxi, I didn’t think it was appropriate for initiating a long-term relationship between customer and cleaner that way, but we’re applying similar ‘on-demand’ tech to automate things like payments and communication.”

Discussing the rollout to 10 initial locations, Edward said: “Our aim is to quickly secure around 10,000 hours of weekly recurring business within the foreseeable future.

“It’s an ambitious target, but with the technology we have in place and growing numbers of both service providers and customers, we think it’s also a realistic one.”

The £9m Small Loan Fund is part of the £120m North East Fund and offers between £10k and £50k. Cleanily is the first company in North Tyneside to secure investment from the fund.

NEL Fund Managers investment executive Mike Guellard said: “Cleanily has taken an innovative approach to solving an age-old problem and has mapped out a very clear way forward for the business.

“North Tyneside is an important investment area for us, and we’re keen to hear from as many small businesses there as possible that could scale up what they’re doing with the right sort of growth capital support.”

North East Fund marketing manager Dawn Dunn commented: “There is £120m available to companies across the region over the next five years and our fund managers will continue to deliver individual investments ranging in value from £10k to £2m.

“This latest announcement is good news for North Tyneside, as well as the North East overall.”