Personal touch, professional standards

Earn £100,000+ a year without getting your hands dirty

Poppies has been at the forefront of the UK’s quality domestic cleaning industry for over 40 years… but you won’t find anything old-fashioned about the Poppies business model.

Poppies' technology, systems and processes make this a business that’s simple to operate and control. The Poppies bespoke business management system minimises your admin and lets you focus on what’s important: stellar service and stellar growth.

By running a successful home based cleaning business you will be minimising overheads, and only move to an office when your cash flow allows – meaning no further investment is required.

Poppies is Britain’s oldest-established domestic cleaning franchise and has been setting the standards others follow since 1980. Our most successful franchisee, Chris Wootton, now owns and operates the franchise network as the Poppies MD. The result is a culture of rare and genuine passion to help people like you with the oomph and the ambition to build your own financial freedom and security, just as he did.

The Poppies Cleaning Service Franchise Opportunity

The primary role of the franchisee is to build and maintain great relationships with both clients and staff. The ability to get on with people and enjoy providing help to other people’s lives is one of the cores Poppies are looking for in their franchisees. The skills around cleaning they can teach; but the understanding of how to create happy clients is something that is invaluable.

As a Poppies Franchisee, you will employ cleaners your customers can rely on to be honest, efficient and discreet. Poppies will share with you their extensive inside knowledge about recruitment in the industry, which has been built up over many decades. From cleaners to managers and administrative staff, rest assured they will guide you through the very best practices to recruit and retain a dream team who will ensure your franchise flourishes.

_{Note: the above figures are based on 2019 financials for the top 20% of franchisees who have their own management team.}

What you’ll need to be a Poppies franchisee

Buying a franchise is a low-risk way of sharing in the success of a high-profile business, backed all the way by the people who know it best and made it all possible.

We’ll let you into our trade secrets, support you with marketing and operations, and mentor you to become a confident Poppies franchisee.

You don’t need to have owned a business before.

1. A great communicator
2. Business-minded
3. Methodical and motivated
4. Proud and personable
5. Willing to reinvest to grow your business

A business journey, taken together

You can have your own Poppies domestic cleaning business either by setting one up in a new territory or by buying one that’s already established. Either way, Chris and his team will mentor and guide you on following the proven business model.

Poppies prides itself on the personal touch – something our customers have appreciated for decades. As a franchise owner, you’ll employ cleaners your customers can rely on to be honest, efficient and discreet. They won’t raise an eyebrow if the house they’ve cleaned is in uproar the next time they visit, and they’ll even park your liveried van around the corner if the customer wants to claim the credit for all their hard work! Like you, they’ll make it their business to keep clients happy.

What you’ll need to be a Poppies Franchisee

Buying a Poppies franchise is a low-risk way of sharing in the success of an established brand, backed all the way by the people who know it best and made it all possible.

Poppies will let you into their trade secrets, support you with marketing and operations, and mentor you to become a confident Poppies Franchisee.

You don’t need to have owned a business before, but you do need to be:

A great communicator
Driven and determined
Methodical and motivated
Proud and personable

If you’d like to know more about the Poppies Cleaning Service Franchise and…

… are a real people-person

… enjoy providing excellent customer service

… want to build and lead your own team

Find out more

If you’d like to know more about the Poppies franchise and…

… are a real people-person

… enjoy providing excellent customer service

… want to build something of your own, surrounded by experienced people

Please get in touch with us below:

Busting the common misconceptions about cleaning franchises

August 03, 2022

In an industry that contributes more than £55.5 billion to the UK economy2, this popular belief has been shown to be untrue, with domestic cleaning franchise Poppies proving that cleaning franchises are in fact an attractive investment.

Here, Chris Wootton, Managing Director of Poppies, quashes some common misconceptions associated with becoming a franchisee in the cleaning industry.

I won’t be my own boss

This is one of the most common misconceptions in the franchise industry. While you will be operating within the framework of the franchise structure that has been refined, proven and trusted, your own ideas and vision are equally if not more important to the success of your business. Cleaning franchises need local expertise at the helm to meet customers’ demands and understand their individual needs. Without giving franchisees autonomy over how to appeal to their communities, the service will not work.

I don’t have any experience in the cleaning industry

Everyone starts their journey in franchising on the same page. You don’t necessarily need to have experience in the industry sector to succeed, but you will, , need to be dedicated, hard-working and ambitious. Through rigorous and detailed training programmes and ongoing support, franchisors give franchisees the tools necessary to enable them to grow and evolve so they fit in perfectly with what their local community is looking for. In an industry that is thriving, many more people are considering a change of career and looking to a cleaning franchise that is both lucrative and in-demand both now and in the future

I need experience running my own business to be a successful franchisee

It is the job of the franchisor to turn new franchisees into successful business owners through operating their proven system and providing ongoing support. Having said that, experience of running your own business will of course shorten the learning curve and will also bring useful knowledge of what has or hasn’t worked well in the past. It is, however, important not to worry about previous business experience as there are opportunities for people with all sorts of backgrounds. Franchisors look for different level of experience in different areas, including Poppies where we have a diverse network of franchisees from the hospitality, engineering and marketing backgrounds to name a few. With our prospects, we like to see proof of their achievements, but what really matters is their ambition, potential and ability for further success in the future with their franchise.

I’m too busy

If striking a healthy work-life balance is your main driver for going into franchising, cleaning franchises are the ideal route to follow. Setting your own personal targets and building a capable and exceptional team to help reach those goals is all possible with the support of a reputable and trusted brand. Cleaning franchises open the door to a truly scalable business – you can start from home and go from there at a rate that suits you. Between 2016-2020, the amount of cleaning businesses in the UK increased by over 6,0001, and the pandemic further highlighted the need for exceptional cleaning service providers to be readily available and accessible to anyone. If there was ever a time to consider how to maximise your time and build a profitable and scalable business, it is now!

I’m not the right age

Being self-motivated and inspired by wanting to deliver the best possible service are the most important characteristics franchisees can possess. Whether you are just starting your franchise journey or you are seeking a role that will lead you into retirement, cleaning franchises offer diversity to suit anyone at any stage of their profession. Starting a cleaning franchise can be a highly profitable venture, not to mention an enjoyable and rewarding career choice.

^{1. PolicyBee, 2021, UK cleaning industry statistics 2021}
^{2. British Cleaning Council, 2021, THE CLEANING, HYGIENE AND WASTE INDUSTRY RESEARCH REPORT}

Author bio

Chris Wootton is owner, Managing Director and also longstanding franchisee of Poppies with over two decades of personal experience in both the cleaning and franchise industries. Launched in 1980, Poppies was the UK’s first ever cleaning franchise. Today, the 23-strong network turns over more than £5million annually. Having taking ownership of the brand in 2018, Chris is leading the business into a new phase of expansion and growth and has just launched the next generation of the Poppies franchise opportunity.

Poppies Cleaning Service Success Stories