Domestic cleaning company Poppies reports successful financial year

Poppies said the rise in demand for home services has led to big growth throughout 2023.

The 25-strong franchise network has welcomed three new starters this year, with the industry at large seeing 20% year-on-year growth, according to Jobber.

There are currently new franchisees in Warwick, Nottingham, and Hounslow.

Kuldeep Mahi launched Poppies Warwick in February after being attracted to the scalability and the potential for growth, particularly as it allowed him to continue to run his marketing company and volunteer for the Samaritans in his free time. 

“I wanted to join a business which was 100% British, with strong family values and a demonstrated history of exceptional service,” said Mahi. 

“There’s such a wealth of experience and knowledge in the head office team, you really feel like you’re in safe hands. It never felt like I was just buying into a business, even before I started; Poppies have a real community feel which made them really stand out to me.”

The most recent franchisee to be welcomed to the network is Soniya Fernandes of Poppies Hounslow. Born and raised in India, Soniya moved to England four years ago to live with her husband and business partner, Lester, to launch their new cleaning franchise. 

“I was looking for a business I could build from an established base, something to give me that flexibility and income so I could live comfortably and not worry about where my next paycheque was coming from,” said Fernandes. 

“I researched so many competitors in the cleaning industry, but the thing about Poppies which really stood out was the support and the training they offer to their franchisees.”

The head office team has also appointed a new marketing and social media assistant, Michaela, along with the promotion of Poppies veteran Dianne, who will now be joining the franchisee support team and brings with her more than 20 years of operational experience at all levels. 

The new appointments aim to strengthen the head office team and are indicative of the huge growth Poppies has seen in 2023.

This increased investment from the franchisor has also seen web traffic across all franchisees up by 47%, with two high-flying outlets benefitting heavily as they near-doubled the size of their pre-Covid operation. Poppies Sheffield has seen a growth of 193% in turnover with Poppies Stockport seeing 184%. Poppies Wirral is following closely behind with a 176% increase.

“We’ve had a strong six months of growth in terms of the network and customers, demonstrating there is still a real demand for our professional cleaning services,” said Chris Wootton, Managing Director of Poppies (pictured above). 

“With our three new franchisees joining our family and the surge in web traffic, I’m really pleased with our progress this year, leading to a good financial standing for our franchisee’s businesses. This continued growth indicates a brand primed for helping prospective franchisees find the perfect franchise devoted to innovation and investment in people and business development. We’re thrilled to be where we are today and look forward to continuing to strengthen our franchise opportunity to expand the network even more.”