{"id":1818895,"date":"2026-09-16T09:49:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T07:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-open-a-cleaning-business-in-the-uk\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T09:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T07:28:18","slug":"how-to-open-a-cleaning-business-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-open-a-cleaning-business-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"How to open a cleaning business in the UK in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>No licence is required to start a cleaning business in the UK. That makes it one of the cheapest trades to enter and one of the easiest to get wrong, because the rules that bite are employment rules rather than permits. The single largest of them is TUPE, which can move another company&#8217;s staff onto your payroll the day you win a contract. What follows applies in England unless stated.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleaning has almost no barrier to entry. There is no registration, no inspection regime, no qualification and, for a domestic round, no premises. What there is instead is a business made almost entirely of labour, which means the risk sits in how people are engaged, checked and paid. Domestic and commercial cleaning are also two different businesses wearing the same name: one sells to households and can be run from a van, the other bids for contracts and inherits the staff who were already doing the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1\">What is a cleaning business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A cleaning business supplies labour, equipment and materials to clean premises it does not own, and in the UK it needs no licence, registration or qualification to trade. A cleaning service can be sold to households, to other businesses, or to both. The market divides on who the customer is. <strong>Domestic cleaning<\/strong> sells regular visits to households, usually paid per visit or by monthly subscription, with the relationship held directly with the householder. <strong>Commercial cleaning<\/strong> sells contracted hours to offices, schools, surgeries and industrial sites, usually won by tender and held on a term contract. The two have different cash cycles, different insurance needs and, critically, different employment law exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior.jpg\" alt=\"woman cleaning staircase in bright hallway\" class=\"wp-image-1818930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior-360x203.jpg 360w, https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior-640x360.jpg 640w, https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior-960x540.jpg 960w, https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/woman-cleaning-staircase-home-interior-1168x657.jpg 1168w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2\">How to open a cleaning business in the UK, step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no licence to apply for, so opening a cleaning service is a sequence of commercial and employment decisions rather than permissions. In short, what a new cleaning business needs before its first job:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A decision on domestic or commercial work, which sets everything else<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A registered business, as a sole trader or a limited company<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Public liability insurance, plus employers&#8217; liability once anyone is employed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A COSHH assessment covering the cleaning products used<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Right to work checks on every employee, and DBS checks for schools and care settings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Materials, equipment and a vehicle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Choose domestic or commercial before anything else<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The choice determines the whole shape of the business. Domestic work is bought on trust and convenience, priced per visit, and scales by adding rounds. Commercial work is bought on price and compliance, priced per hour against a specification, and scales by winning contracts. A domestic operator can start alone with a car and a set of keys. A commercial operator bidding for a site that already has cleaners is usually taking on those cleaners as employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Decide how cleaners will be engaged<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the defining decision in the sector. Cleaners can be <strong>employed<\/strong>, which brings PAYE, holiday pay, pension enrolment and employer National Insurance, or genuinely <strong>self-employed<\/strong>, which does not. Employment status in the UK is determined by the reality of the working arrangement rather than by what the contract calls it, so an operator who sets the hours, supplies the materials and directs the work is likely to have employees whatever the paperwork says. Getting this wrong creates liability for unpaid tax, unpaid holiday and minimum wage shortfalls at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Register the business and sort the tax position<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <strong>sole trader<\/strong> registers for Self Assessment with HMRC. A <strong>private company limited by shares<\/strong> is incorporated at Companies House, with directors carrying statutory duties under the Companies Act 2006 and now verifying their identity. A PAYE scheme is needed before the first payday if anyone is employed. Cleaning services are standard-rated, so <strong>VAT registration<\/strong> is required once taxable turnover passes <strong>\u00a390,000<\/strong>, which matters more here than in most trades because adding 20% to a domestic price is difficult to pass on to householders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Arrange insurance and the practical protections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A cleaning service is unusual in that the business holds keys to premises it is not responsible for and works unsupervised inside them. The cover that matters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Employers&#8217; liability insurance<\/strong> : a legal requirement once anyone is employed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public liability insurance<\/strong> : not a legal requirement, but a condition of most commercial contracts and many domestic customers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cover for keys, damage and treatment risk<\/strong> : the specific exposures of working inside someone else&#8217;s property<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Motor insurance for business use<\/strong> : ordinary commuting cover does not extend to a cleaning round<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cover the health and safety duties<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleaning chemicals are hazardous substances, so the <strong>COSHH<\/strong> regime applies: assessing the products used, controlling exposure and training staff to use them safely. Duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply as they do in any workplace, and lone working in customers&#8217; premises is a risk that has to be assessed rather than assumed away. An operator that removes waste from a client&#8217;s premises as part of the service may also need to register as a waste carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Check right to work, and check again after a transfer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Right to work checks apply to every person employed, and the civil penalty for employing someone without the right to work is charged per worker. A cleaning business is disproportionately exposed, because staff frequently arrive by TUPE transfer rather than by recruitment, and an employer inherits the liability along with the people. Work in schools, healthcare and care settings brings DBS requirements on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Price the work and win the first customers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A domestic cleaning service is usually priced per visit and quoted after seeing the property. Commercial pricing is built from hours against a specification, with the wage floor, employer National Insurance, holiday accrual and pension sitting underneath every quoted hour. Because labour is most of the cost, a contract priced before the April wage uprating can become unprofitable in the same financial year unless the contract allows for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3\">Types of cleaning business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Domestic round<\/strong> : regular household cleans, lowest entry cost, no premises, and the format most franchised in the UK, accounting for much of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/our-franchises\/personal-services\/\">personal services franchises recruiting in the UK<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Commercial contract cleaning<\/strong> : offices, schools and industrial sites on term contracts, higher turnover per customer and the format where TUPE applies, sold to the same buyers as the <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/our-franchises\/business-services\/\">business services franchises recruiting in the UK<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>End of tenancy and one-off deep cleans<\/strong> : higher value per job, no recurring income, and demand tied to the lettings market<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Specialist cleaning service<\/strong> : windows, carpets, jet washing, oven cleaning or biohazard work, where equipment cost is higher and competition thinner<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Management franchise<\/strong> : the owner builds and manages a team rather than cleaning, which is how most UK cleaning franchises are structured<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4\">How much does it cost to start a cleaning business in the UK?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No official UK average start-up cost exists, and there is no disclosure filing to consult, because the UK has none. Cleaning is nonetheless the sector where a franchisor publishes the most usable figures on its own site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-800\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-800\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Item<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Published figure<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Licence to trade<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">None. No registration, no inspection regime and no qualification requirement<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Franchised domestic cleaning<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Molly Maid UK: initial investment \u00a323,975 plus \u00a312,000 working capital earmarked for first-year marketing, with one week of training. The franchisor states that 50% of the initial fee is reinvested in marketing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Independent start-up<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Not published: no official UK average. The unavoidable costs are insurance, materials, equipment and a vehicle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Staff<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">National Living Wage \u00a312.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 for those aged 21 and over, \u00a310.85 for 18 to 20 year olds, plus employer National Insurance at 15% above \u00a35,000 a year per employee, less the \u00a310,500 Employment Allowance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">VAT<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Cleaning services are standard-rated at 20%. Registration required once taxable turnover passes \u00a390,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Funding<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Start Up Loans lends up to \u00a325,000 per applicant at a fixed 7.5% over one to five years, unsecured, capped at \u00a3100,000 per business<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-800 from cache -->\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Business rates rarely feature. A domestic round run from home is not normally separately rated, and an operator taking a small unit for storage would fall outside the retail, hospitality and leisure categories, so the standard non-RHL multipliers apply rather than the lower RHL ones used by shops and gyms.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference\" style=\"border-color: #fcb900;\"><div class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__icon\" style=\"color: #fcb900;\"><svg class=\"icon-thumb-up\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"35\" height=\"35\" viewBox=\"0 0 48 48\" fill=\"none\" style=\"color: #fcb900;\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M21.4998 4.89989L20.8499 4.13985L20.8474 4.14202L21.4998 4.89989ZM26.5397 4.89989L27.1922 4.14197L27.1842 4.13526L26.5397 4.89989ZM29.6998 7.62011L30.3547 6.86441L30.3522 6.86223L29.6998 7.62011ZM40.4197 18.3401L41.1776 17.6877L41.1754 17.6851L40.4197 18.3401ZM43.1398 21.5L43.8998 20.8501L43.8977 20.8476L43.1398 21.5ZM43.1398 26.54L43.8977 27.1924L43.9044 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16.1152 19.837 16.121 19.8316C16.1424 19.812 16.2914 19.7 16.8798 19.7V17.7C16.1482 17.7 15.3571 17.8179 14.7685 18.3583C14.1585 18.9183 13.9998 19.7102 13.9998 20.48H15.9998ZM16.8798 19.7H17.8198V17.7H16.8798V19.7ZM17.8198 19.7C18.3941 19.7 18.5477 19.8104 18.574 19.8344C18.5776 19.8376 18.6998 19.9386 18.6998 20.48H20.6998C20.6998 19.7014 20.532 18.9123 19.9205 18.3556C19.3318 17.8195 18.5455 17.7 17.8198 17.7V19.7ZM18.6998 20.48V29.6399H20.6998V20.48H18.6998ZM18.6998 29.6399C18.6998 30.1755 18.5805 30.2788 18.5752 30.2838C18.5511 30.3061 18.3996 30.4199 17.8198 30.4199V32.4199C18.56 32.4199 19.3484 32.2937 19.9343 31.751C20.539 31.191 20.6998 30.4043 20.6998 29.6399H18.6998ZM17.8198 30.4199H16.8798V32.4199H17.8198V30.4199ZM16.8798 30.4199C16.2914 30.4199 16.1424 30.3079 16.121 30.2883C16.1152 30.2829 16.0888 30.2593 16.0604 30.1704C16.0287 30.0714 15.9998 29.9055 15.9998 29.6399H13.9998C13.9998 30.4097 14.1585 31.2015 14.7685 31.7616C15.3571 32.302 16.1482 32.4199 16.8798 32.4199V30.4199Z\"\/><\/svg><\/div><h3 class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__title lf-transform-none\">Good to know<\/h3><div class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__lede\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-lexpress-highlighted-text-v2 lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__lede\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Winning a commercial cleaning contract often means inheriting the staff. Acas lists <strong>office cleaning<\/strong> among the contracts where a service provider change typically arises, alongside catering, security and waste collection. TUPE applies where there is an <strong>organised grouping of employees<\/strong> carrying out the work for that client, the client stays the same, and the work stays mainly the same. Three points follow that catch new operators out. There is <strong>no minimum size<\/strong> for the grouping: it can be a single employee. The employer <strong>cannot choose<\/strong> which staff transfer, since everyone assigned to the contract moves automatically. And the outgoing employer must supply employee liability information before the transfer. TUPE does not apply to a one-off job or a short-term task, and it may not apply where a contract is broken up between several providers, which Acas calls fragmentation. For a new cleaning business this reframes a tender: the bid is not only for the work, it is for a payroll set by somebody else&#8217;s contracts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5\">Cleaning franchise opportunities in the UK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Franchising in the UK is governed by general contract law, which leaves the <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/franchise-agreements-uk\/\">franchise agreement<\/a> carrying the weight a disclosure filing carries elsewhere. There is no franchise statute, no register and no statutory pre-contract disclosure requirement, and the British Franchise Association&#8217;s Code of Ethics binds its voluntary members rather than the market. Cleaning is one of the deepest franchised sectors here, and unusually it is one where a major brand publishes its entry figures openly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Molly Maid<\/strong> : domestic cleaning, operating in the UK for over 40 years from a support office in Maidenhead. Its own UK franchise site gives an initial investment of \u00a323,975 plus \u00a312,000 of working capital directed at first-year marketing, one week of training, and a five-step recruitment process<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Other UK networks<\/strong> : Bright &amp; Beautiful, Dublcheck, Betterclean and Poppies all recruit in the UK across domestic and commercial cleaning. Terms should be read on each franchisor&#8217;s own pages rather than on a directory listing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference\" style=\"border-color: #9b51e0;\"><div class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__icon\" style=\"color: #9b51e0;\"><svg class=\"icon-thumb-up\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"35\" height=\"35\" viewBox=\"0 0 48 48\" fill=\"none\" style=\"color: #9b51e0;\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M21.4998 4.89989L20.8499 4.13985L20.8474 4.14202L21.4998 4.89989ZM26.5397 4.89989L27.1922 4.14197L27.1842 4.13526L26.5397 4.89989ZM29.6998 7.62011L30.3547 6.86441L30.3522 6.86223L29.6998 7.62011ZM40.4197 18.3401L41.1776 17.6877L41.1754 17.6851L40.4197 18.3401ZM43.1398 21.5L43.8998 20.8501L43.8977 20.8476L43.1398 21.5ZM43.1398 26.54L43.8977 27.1924L43.9044 27.1845L43.1398 26.54ZM40.4197 29.6999L41.1754 30.3549L41.1776 30.3523L40.4197 29.6999ZM29.6998 40.4199L30.3521 41.1778L30.3547 41.1756L29.6998 40.4199ZM26.5397 43.1399L27.1896 43.8999L27.1921 43.8978L26.5397 43.1399ZM21.4998 43.1399L20.8474 43.8978L20.8553 43.9045L21.4998 43.1399ZM18.3398 40.4199L17.6849 41.1756L17.6874 41.1778L18.3398 40.4199ZM7.57978 29.6999L8.34803 29.0597L8.34206 29.0527L7.57978 29.6999ZM4.87977 26.52L4.11427 27.1635L4.11748 27.1672L4.87977 26.52ZM4.87977 21.52L4.11747 20.8728L4.11428 20.8766L4.87977 21.52ZM7.57978 18.3401L8.3421 18.9873L8.348 18.9803L7.57978 18.3401ZM18.3398 7.62011L17.6874 6.86223L17.6849 6.86442L18.3398 7.62011ZM22.6797 31.88L23.3869 31.1729L23.3416 31.1276L23.291 31.0886L22.6797 31.88ZM30.6198 30.4801L29.6694 30.1688L29.6583 30.2028L29.6496 30.2375L30.6198 30.4801ZM32.8597 23.64L31.917 23.3064L31.9131 23.3175L31.9094 23.3288L32.8597 23.64ZM26.3998 20.0802L25.4113 19.9286L25.4089 19.9442L25.407 19.9598L26.3998 20.0802ZM26.8597 17.0802L25.8819 16.8706L25.8758 16.8995L25.8713 16.9286L26.8597 17.0802ZM25.6398 15.0201L25.2859 15.9554L25.3046 15.9625L25.3235 15.9688L25.6398 15.0201ZM23.5798 15.68L22.7523 15.1185L22.7504 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42.3798C24.8867 43.2376 23.1746 43.2437 22.1442 42.3753L20.8553 43.9045C22.6249 45.3961 25.4328 45.4021 27.1896 43.8999L25.8899 42.3798ZM22.1521 42.382L18.9922 39.662L17.6874 41.1778L20.8474 43.8978L22.1521 42.382ZM18.9947 39.6642C18.5787 39.3037 18.0339 39.0159 17.5047 38.8182C16.9755 38.6205 16.3738 38.48 15.8198 38.48V40.48C16.0657 40.48 16.4241 40.5495 16.8048 40.6917C17.1856 40.834 17.5008 41.0161 17.6849 41.1756L18.9947 39.6642ZM15.8198 38.48H12.3597V40.48H15.8198V38.48ZM12.3597 38.48C10.792 38.48 9.49976 37.1878 9.49976 35.6201H7.49976C7.49976 38.2924 9.6875 40.48 12.3597 40.48V38.48ZM9.49976 35.6201V32.1999H7.49976V35.6201H9.49976ZM9.49976 32.1999C9.49976 31.6539 9.35826 31.0572 9.16508 30.5353C8.9714 30.0121 8.69178 29.4723 8.348 29.0598L6.81156 30.3401C6.96777 30.5276 7.14815 30.8478 7.28945 31.2296C7.43127 31.6127 7.49976 31.966 7.49976 32.1999H9.49976ZM8.34206 29.0527L5.64205 25.8728L4.11748 27.1672L6.81749 30.3472L8.34206 29.0527ZM5.64525 25.8766C4.79794 24.8685 4.79794 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28.8486L19.1685 30.4314ZM21.9726 32.5871C22.3408 32.9552 22.8395 33.1544 23.2304 33.2648C23.645 33.3819 24.0864 33.44 24.4598 33.44V31.44C24.2731 31.44 24.0145 31.4081 23.7741 31.3401C23.6565 31.3069 23.5592 31.2695 23.4859 31.233C23.4093 31.1948 23.3839 31.1699 23.3869 31.1729L21.9726 32.5871ZM24.4598 33.44H27.9998V31.44H24.4598V33.44ZM27.9998 33.44C28.799 33.44 29.5865 33.1456 30.2139 32.6881C30.842 32.2301 31.3818 31.5549 31.5899 30.7226L29.6496 30.2375C29.5777 30.5252 29.3675 30.83 29.0356 31.072C28.7031 31.3145 28.3205 31.44 27.9998 31.44V33.44ZM31.5701 30.7913L33.8101 23.9512L31.9094 23.3288L29.6694 30.1688L31.5701 30.7913ZM33.8025 23.9735C34.1312 23.0445 34.0165 22.0828 33.4742 21.3419C32.9352 20.6053 32.0571 20.2 31.0798 20.2V22.2C31.5024 22.2 31.7444 22.3647 31.8603 22.5231C31.973 22.6772 32.0483 22.9354 31.917 23.3064L33.8025 23.9735ZM31.0798 20.2H27.3398V22.2H31.0798V20.2ZM27.3398 20.2C27.3373 20.2 27.3416 20.1997 27.3504 20.2035C27.359 20.2074 27.3692 20.2142 27.3782 20.2243C27.3876 20.235 27.3914 20.2444 27.3923 20.2472C27.3932 20.2503 27.3881 20.2367 27.3925 20.2005L25.407 19.9598C25.2548 21.2156 26.1799 22.2 27.3398 22.2V20.2ZM27.3882 20.2317L27.8482 17.2317L25.8713 16.9286L25.4113 19.9286L27.3882 20.2317ZM27.8375 17.2897C28.1304 15.9229 27.2511 14.5031 25.956 14.0714L25.3235 15.9688C25.7084 16.0971 25.949 16.5575 25.8819 16.8706L27.8375 17.2897ZM25.9937 14.0848C25.3555 13.8433 24.6881 13.9027 24.1473 14.0902C23.612 14.2757 23.0868 14.6256 22.7523 15.1185L24.4072 16.2415C24.4528 16.1744 24.5875 16.0543 24.8023 15.9799C25.0114 15.9074 25.1841 15.9169 25.2859 15.9554L25.9937 14.0848ZM22.7504 15.1213L18.9104 20.8212L20.5691 21.9387L24.4091 16.2387L22.7504 15.1213ZM15.9998 29.6399V20.48H13.9998V29.6399H15.9998ZM15.9998 20.48C15.9998 20.2144 16.0287 20.0485 16.0604 19.9495C16.0888 19.8605 16.1152 19.837 16.121 19.8316C16.1424 19.812 16.2914 19.7 16.8798 19.7V17.7C16.1482 17.7 15.3571 17.8179 14.7685 18.3583C14.1585 18.9183 13.9998 19.7102 13.9998 20.48H15.9998ZM16.8798 19.7H17.8198V17.7H16.8798V19.7ZM17.8198 19.7C18.3941 19.7 18.5477 19.8104 18.574 19.8344C18.5776 19.8376 18.6998 19.9386 18.6998 20.48H20.6998C20.6998 19.7014 20.532 18.9123 19.9205 18.3556C19.3318 17.8195 18.5455 17.7 17.8198 17.7V19.7ZM18.6998 20.48V29.6399H20.6998V20.48H18.6998ZM18.6998 29.6399C18.6998 30.1755 18.5805 30.2788 18.5752 30.2838C18.5511 30.3061 18.3996 30.4199 17.8198 30.4199V32.4199C18.56 32.4199 19.3484 32.2937 19.9343 31.751C20.539 31.191 20.6998 30.4043 20.6998 29.6399H18.6998ZM17.8198 30.4199H16.8798V32.4199H17.8198V30.4199ZM16.8798 30.4199C16.2914 30.4199 16.1424 30.3079 16.121 30.2883C16.1152 30.2829 16.0888 30.2593 16.0604 30.1704C16.0287 30.0714 15.9998 29.9055 15.9998 29.6399H13.9998C13.9998 30.4097 14.1585 31.2015 14.7685 31.7616C15.3571 32.302 16.1482 32.4199 16.8798 32.4199V30.4199Z\"\/><\/svg><\/div><p class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__title lf-transform-none\">Editor&#8217;s tip<\/p><div class=\"lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__lede\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-lexpress-highlighted-text-v2 lf-gut-blog-post-cta-efference__lede\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Molly Maid&#8217;s UK site also publishes an earnings progression: break-even potential in year one on average sales of \u00a373,453, 8% to 10% net profit in year two on \u00a3163,378, and 15% to 18% in year three on \u00a3287,101, described as based on the actual performance of recent franchise owners. Those are franchisor-provided figures. They are not audited, no regulator verifies them, and the UK has no disclosure filing against which to check them. They describe businesses that already exist rather than the one being sold. The hard terms on the same page, the investment, the working capital and the training, are the part that will appear in the agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6\">The practical difficulties operators report<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Wage rises against fixed-price contracts<\/strong> : the wage floor moves every April, while a commercial contract may be priced for a year or more, so the margin is squeezed from underneath<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The VAT threshold<\/strong> : crossing \u00a390,000 adds 20% to prices that domestic customers compare against cash-in-hand competitors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Employment status challenges<\/strong> : treating cleaners as self-employed when the arrangement says otherwise creates retrospective liability for tax, holiday pay and minimum wage together<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>TUPE on both sides<\/strong> : staff transfer in when a contract is won and out when it is lost, so the workforce is not entirely the operator&#8217;s to plan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Turnover of staff<\/strong> : the work is part-time, unsocial and low-paid relative to the wider labour market, and recruitment is a permanent activity rather than a start-up task<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7\">The bottom line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cleaning is the cheapest business in this series to start and the one most exposed to employment law. Nothing has to be licensed, registered or inspected, and a domestic round can begin with insurance, materials and a vehicle. What decides whether it works is how cleaners are engaged, how contracts are priced against a wage floor that moves every April, and whether the operator understands that winning a commercial contract can mean inheriting someone else&#8217;s staff on someone else&#8217;s terms. The published franchise route starts at \u00a323,975 plus working capital, which sits at the affordable end of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/\">UK franchise directory<\/a>. The independent route has no published figure, because there is almost nothing that has to be bought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <div class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block\">\n                            <span                    class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__title\"\n                    style=\"text-transform: none;\"\n                >\n                    Frequently asked questions about starting a cleaning business in the UK                <\/span>\n                        \n\n<div class=\"wp-block-lexpress-faq-v2-item lf-gut-faq-v2-block__item\"><h3 class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-wrapper\"><button class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-target=\".lf-gut-answer-b7ktm4rzq\"><span class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-text\">Do you need a licence to open a cleaning business in the UK?<\/span><span class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"icon-thumb-up\" src=\"https:\/\/feb26.lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/i-chevron-white.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/h3><div class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__answer lf-gut-faq-v2-answer-b7ktm4rzqlf-gut-answer-b7ktm4rzq\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. There is no licence, registration or qualification requirement to open a cleaning business in the UK. Obligations still apply: employers&#8217; liability insurance once anyone is employed, COSHH duties for cleaning chemicals, right to work checks for every recruit, DBS checks for work in schools and care settings, and waste carrier registration where waste is removed from a client&#8217;s premises.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-lexpress-faq-v2-item lf-gut-faq-v2-block__item\"><h3 class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-wrapper\"><button class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-target=\".lf-gut-answer-y2wnf9hdp\"><span class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-text\">Does TUPE apply when you win a cleaning contract?<\/span><span class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"icon-thumb-up\" src=\"https:\/\/feb26.lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/i-chevron-white.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/h3><div class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__answer lf-gut-faq-v2-answer-y2wnf9hdplf-gut-answer-y2wnf9hdp\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Often, yes. Acas describes a service provision change, where a client moves a contract from one provider to another, using office cleaning as its example. Where an organised group of employees is assigned to the contract and the activities continue essentially unchanged, those employees transfer to the incoming contractor on their existing terms. It applies equally when a contract is lost. Whether it applies to a particular tender should be established before bidding, not after.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-lexpress-faq-v2-item lf-gut-faq-v2-block__item\"><h3 class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-wrapper\"><button class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question\" type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-target=\".lf-gut-answer-g6lscv3ja\"><span class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-text\">How much does a cleaning franchise cost in the UK?<\/span><span class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__question-icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"icon-thumb-up\" src=\"https:\/\/feb26.lexpress-franchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/i-chevron-white.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/h3><div class=\"lf-gut-faq-v2-block__answer lf-gut-faq-v2-answer-g6lscv3jalf-gut-answer-g6lscv3ja\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Molly Maid publishes an initial investment of \u00a323,975 plus \u00a312,000 of working capital on its own UK franchise site. No official UK average exists across the sector. Figures found for international brands are frequently American: Molly Maid&#8217;s US disclosure document puts the total investment there at roughly US$144,000 to US$204,000, which reflects a different market and has no application in the UK.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n\n        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No licence is required to start a cleaning business in the UK. That makes it one of the cheapest trades to enter and one of the easiest to get wrong, because the rules that bite are employment rules rather than permits. The single largest of them is TUPE, which can move another company&#8217;s staff onto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":994,"featured_media":1818929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"How to open a cleaning business in the UK in %%currentyear%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"How to open a cleaning business in the UK in %%currentyear%% : no licence is needed, but TUPE, employment status and VAT decide whether a cleaning service actually works.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"content-type":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1818612,1818522,1818409,1817608,1818683,1818724","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[868,875,887,3583],"tags":[],"type-de-post":[438],"class_list":["post-1818895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-understanding-franchising","category-getting-started","category-market-entry","category-entrepreneurship","type-de-post-articles"],"acf":[],"permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1818895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/994"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1818895"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1818895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1818952,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1818895\/revisions\/1818952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1818929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1818895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1818895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1818895"},{"taxonomy":"type-de-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-de-post?post=1818895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}