The Australasian marketplace can take some heart from a report that the UK contract cleaning market is ‘expected to experience solid growth’ this year.’
Following a successful 2015, the sector is set to grow by £100 million (AUD $180 million) according to an analysis of 70 cleaning contractors by MTW Research.
The report released by MTW Research ‘forecasts demand growth across several sectors, with more specialised cleaning services leading the way in terms of value growth’.
Research executive James Taylor stated “by 2020, our forecast models indicate total contract cleaning market sales will rise by £500 million (AUD $940 million), underpinned by volume and value growth.”
‘Contract cleaning sales are set for above-inflation growth this year, boosted by a number of key end-use sectors including health, care homes, education and private commercial markets’.
“Cleaning companies will need to increase productivity and differentiate through better staff management, more efficient equipment, enhanced levels of monitoring and communication, Internet of Things (IoT) automation and integration of new technologies if they are to succeed,” Mr Taylor added.
According to the report ‘new technologies continue to offer considerable growth opportunities for manufacturers and contract cleaning companies in 2016.
One example is the rise of IoT and robotic technologies stimulating growth in the floor-cleaning sector, as companies seek to increase the effectiveness of their cleaning services’.
MTW’s analysis of contract cleaning companies with more than £3 billion (AUD $5.6 billion) of sales found that less than 50 per cent of the companies experienced growth during the past 12 months.
MTW pointed to ‘a core strength in the market, with more than 80 per cent of contract cleaners having either a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ credit rating in 2016, reflecting a generally strong trading environment despite continuing challenges in some market areas’.