Minster Cleaning’s new Managing Director, Dan Williams, hasn’t had his feet under the desk at its Birmingham headquarters for long, but he’s already clear about what makes the company tick.

“There are consistent themes of high service levels and high customer satisfaction across our franchises. And it’s underpinned by a well-established and mature business model.” This includes large and exclusive territories, which ensures there’s no competition between franchisees.

It’s a strong combination of factors, particularly given the economic headwinds the country is grappling with, and one of the reasons Dan was attracted to the business which he joined in February this year.

“It’s tough for all business owners at the moment with challenges including geopolitical instability, government policy and inflation impacting confidence. However, there are few models as resilient as commercial cleaning. More people are back working in offices and they need our services,” he adds.

That resistance to economic volatility has been a crucial factor in enabling the company and many of its franchises to continue growing throughout a decade that has witnessed a pandemic, political disruption, a cost-of-living crisis and international conflict.

Dan points out that group revenues are now approaching a healthy £60m annually while the top performing franchise brings in more than £4m, with many turning over up to £2m. It’s no surprise therefore that the average tenure is lengthy, at around 15 years.

The fundamentals are in robust shape and Dan’s immediate plans are to keep the good work up. He has a track record that suggests he’s more than capable of achieving that while taking the organisation forward. Director roles in companies including Euromaster and Halfords, where he helped grow revenues from £150m to £750m, have sharpened his leadership skills that he’s now putting into practice at Minster Cleaning.

Currently, he’s enjoying deepening his knowledge of the sector and getting to know the franchisees. “They’re the lifeblood of the business and they’re the ones who understand what the day-to-day operational challenges are. I want to listen to them and really understand how we can support each one to continuously improve.”

These conversations will give him the insights to build on the existing systems and support that are in place, helping each franchise become more successful.

Ultimately his goal is to reinforce Minster Cleaning’s competitive advantage. “I want to protect the heritage of a very successful company with a strong background, while increasing the focus on customers and growing sales. Like all businesses we need to constantly evolve, so I am interested in how we could use AI, for example, to improve business processes.”

If you want to join Minster Cleaning and become part of one of the UK’s leading commercial cleaning franchises, the initial start-up cost of a new franchise is £20,000 plus VAT, £5,000 of which is allocated to a marketing launch package using a highly effective strategy that’s constantly being refined. It also covers licence fee, territory, comprehensive training on all areas of the business, computer hardware and stationery.