Taylor Made Franchising acquires Cookerburra Oven Cleaning

The professional oven cleaning service in the UK currently has 12 franchisees operating across the country

Cookerburra, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is the latest franchise brand to join the growing Taylor Made Franchising group.

Cookerburra was founded by Mike Holloway and Dave Dymond in 1993. Former chef Holloway came up with the idea for the company whilst cleaning an oven at work. He wondered how homeowners cleaned their ovens at home without the large containers he had to soak, degrease and decarbonise the parts in. After discussions with business partner Dymond, Cookerburra was launched, operating with a single van in Reading, making it the first mobile, professional oven cleaning service in the UK.

The word Cookerburra is based on the Australian bird, the Kookaburra.

Mike said: “The idea was always to franchise. I’m Australian by birth, where franchising is well-known and considered a reputable business model, so when I came up with the idea of Cookerburra, I knew that to satisfy the demand, I needed to franchise immediately.”

Cookerburra currently has 12 franchisees operating across the UK in Reading, York, Hull, Darlington, Edinburgh, Southampton, Northampton, Banbury, St Albans, Taunton, Basildon (Essex,) West Berkshire and East Sussex.

Whilst Taylor Made Franchising has acquired the company outright, Mike will remain as a franchisee, running the Reading and East Berks territories, as he has done for the past 30 years. He will also assist in training new franchisees.

Commenting on the sale of the business, he said: “As we head into our 30th year this is absolutely the right time for me to hand over the reins of Cookerburra. It is right for the business, right for the franchisees and right for me. I have great faith in Darren and his team at Taylor Made Franchising to take the company to new levels of success and I’m delighted that I’ll still be a part of that, remaining as a franchisee and trainer.”

New owner Darren Taylor said: “We are delighted to have acquired Cookerburra Oven Cleaning. It is a very well-known and respected brand that will make a great addition to the group. It sits well beside the five other van-operated franchises in the group, StumpBusters, PVC Vendo, Wilkins Chimney Sweep, Chemex and Broadway Wine.

“We are also very pleased that Mike will continue running his territories and facilitating the training of new franchisees; I know my team will be glad of his wisdom as we head into this, the company’s very special 30th year. Together we look forward to building a larger, stronger franchise operation and to helping more people become self-employed, running their own Cookerburra Oven Cleaning businesses.”