Fife cleaning firm Abby speeding up acquisition spree in bid to turbocharge revenue

A St Andrews-based cleaning company is pursuing what it says is an ambitious acquisition strategy with a target of more than doubling turnover to £15 million within two years.

Founder and group operations director Robert May says: 'If it needs cleaned, we clean it.' Picture: Lesley Martin.

Abby Group says it has sights set on extending its reach throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK as part of a major growth push between now and 2025, backed through a funding package from external investors, having already snapped up family-owned firms in Glasgow and Aberdeen.

It was established by husband and wife Robert and Julie May in 2008 after they sold their licensed trade interests, and just months after the birth of their daughter Abigail, after whom the firm is named.

The Abby group got its first crucial break when founder and group operations director Robert May met a painter and decorator at a networking event who introduced him to the owners of a nightclub who needed cleaning work carried out. That resulted in securing a contract with those owners who had a chain of clubs throughout the country, opening the door to £150,000 worth of work. Within two years turnover was £500,000.

It says it now offers a wide range of services – “If it needs cleaned, we clean it”, says Robert May – including carrying out 300 cleans of new-build properties every week for firms including Cala, Barratt and Persimmon. Its range of myriad services includes commercial cleaning, domestic cleaning, offices, factories, rental accommodation, health care facilities, schools and colleges, managed apartment blocks, hotels and restaurants, care homes, carpet cleaning, waste management, deep cleans, chewing gum and graffiti removal as well as insurance reinstatement work.

In terms of acquisitions, the business has now bought Glasgow firm Coronet Services, boosting its operations cleaning commercial premises including offices and car showrooms, and Aberdeen’s First Class Cleaning, bring in more work in the construction, end of tenancy, and holiday lets sectors.

Robert May explained that these are the first building blocks in the planned expansion project, which will involve cleaning up with further acquisitions, helping account for around 60 per cent of future projected turnover, and help this metric increase to £15 million from £6m in two years. He also said: “Until now we have grown organically, but recently we have established a sales team to bring in additional business.”