Jonathan Holden, COO, reveals what’s led to the cleaning franchise’s long history of trust and strong revenue streams across its network
In 2024, Molly Maid celebrates its 40th anniversary in business – a milestone that COO, Jonathan Holden, puts down to the brand’s focus on helping franchisees. It’s an approach that has secured numerous accolades and boosted revenue along the way.
The Molly Maid business model ranked ninth among all UK franchisors in the 2024 Elite Franchise Top 100. Meanwhile, the brand has been cited numerous times by YouGov surveys conducted in the domestic cleaning industry.
“In our business plan the number one priority we have each year is growth and moreover, helping franchisees to grow their business,” says Jonathan. “Growth for franchisees means higher profits and greater business value. Over the years, I have found that building a business is much more exciting and rewarding than standing still.”
If you think the domestic cleaning industry is small potatoes, Jonathan says think again. The company regularly conducts research to determine the size of the market, and in 2023 YouGov research showed the market had more than doubled from about £3 billion annually to more than £8 billion.
“Coming out of COVID and Brexit we saw absolutely huge growth in the number of customers wanting our services, so we knew the industry had grown, but to see the magnitude of the growth really surprised us,” says Jonathan.
The company has always invested heavily in advertising and encouraged its franchisees to do the same, but it reacted to the increased growth by ramping up this investment through several new online advertising campaigns, including a 40th anniversary social media campaign.
“We have selected 40 unique stories about our fantastic people and some of the amazing things we have done to become market leaders, and are sharing them on social media,” explains Jonathan.
So far, this franchisee focus has proven successful, and that’s not about to change. In 2023, Molly Maid earned its fourth consecutive 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction Award from WorkBuzz, which is based on anonymous feedback from franchisees. The brand was also named Best Management Franchise in the UK. However, despite success, Molly Maid isn’t prepared to rest on its laurels.
“If we continue to focus on helping franchisees to grow their business, to take more of this huge market, then the awards are just icing on the cake so to speak,” says Jonathan.
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