SOLD : From Coffee to Cleaning!
Former business owner of Otterton Mill takes on a new challenge.
Caroline Spiller, former co-owner of Otterton Mill, has recently taken on a new business challenge, with her purchase of a commercial cleaning company. Betterclean Services Exeter & Taunton offers a wide range of cleaning services for the business sector, partnering with clients as diverse as luxury car-showrooms to dental surgeries, supermarkets and solicitors.
Caroline previously ran Otterton Mill, one of the South-West’s leading visitor attractions, with her husband, Simon. During their 8 year tenure, the business received a string of accolades, awards and national media coverage. Caroline says: “It might seem an unusual move from hospitality and retail to cleaning. However, my whole career has been spent in the service industry, previously with airlines, government and education. What drives me is the delivery of excellent service, whatever the sector. And that is at the heart of the Betterclean business model.”
Caroline added “Cleaning is an essential service for businesses. A clean work-place creates the right first impression for customers and promotes staff well-being. I’m looking forward to partnering with my clients and hopefully exceeding their expectations.”
One of the other attractions for Caroline is the challenge of working with a dispersed workforce, many of whom work alone. She says: “I’ll be looking at ways of building a sense of community with my team, and ensuring that they feel supported as they work, particularly through the use of innovative HR tools and technology.”
The original business of Betterclean was acquired by Dan van Kuyk in 2005 with customers centred around Torbay. Dan grew the business and established a model from which to develop a franchise operation. Having sold virgin territories as far afield as Brighton and Glasgow, Dan looked to sell the established territories of Exeter & Taunton and Plymouth but to retain the Torbay based territory to keep it as the model. Having bought the business in 2005 through Exeter based specialist business transfer agency, Beardsley Theobalds, Dan chose to instruct them to sell these territories for him. Beardsley Theobalds conducted a promotional campaign including featuring the businesses on several websites in the business transfer arena as well as contacting suitable people on their register of buyers.
The Exeter & Taunton territory business was just what Caroline Spiller was looking for as her next business venture and Dan has said “I am really pleased to be welcoming Caroline to the Betterclean family. I strongly believe that her previous business experience combined with her wonderful personality will be a winning formula and that she will grow a successful business within Exeter and Taunton. Caroline is our eighth Franchise owner and joins a growing team of like-minded individuals who all possess the same passion and drive to deliver a first-class cleaning service to businesses all across the UK.”
It was Dan’s vision for the network, the partnership across the franchisees and his straightforward, ethical approach to business that initially attracted Caroline to Betterclean. “I’m excited to be working with Dan in the early stages of the network and contributing to its growth. I hope to act as a benchmark for future franchisees who join us”.
And as to coffee, for which Otterton Mill was well known, the Spillers haven’t left that behind. Simon, Caroline’s husband, paired-up with friend David Tait to launch Spiller & Tait, which has rapidly become one of the best-selling brands of fresh coffee on-line in the UK!
Since 1995, Betterclean Services Ltd has provided commercial cleaning services across a wide range of sectors. The business is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified. Betterclean Services Exeter operates across all EX post-codes (Exeter tel: 01392 770081). Betterclean Services Taunton operates in Taunton and surrounding areas (Taunton tel: 01823 765067).
