About Us

Hi, I am Martin, the founder of 555 Cleaning

Long ago, back in 1998, my first job at 16 was cleaning the canteen in my college whilst I was studying a GNVQ in business studies.

I proved myself to be a hardworking, reliable member of staff and was always asked to do extra hours on my holidays for jobs such as cleaning the carpets in the classrooms and scrubbing and sealing the floors as well as a bit of painting here and there.

A business concept

At 18, as part of my business course I had to come up with a business concept, make a business plan and present it to NatWest Bank.

I saw the potential of a cleaning company to clean the public, communal ways in blocks of flats around Brighton and after presenting it, was given encouragement to actually start the business and was approved for a business loan from the bank and went out and bought an Escort van and some basic tools such as a squeegee and a hoover.

As the business grew

As well as offering communal way cleaning i also offered dusting, window cleaning, vacuuming, rubbish collection as well as one-off jobs such as pressure washing, cleaning bin areas, removing waste, scrubbing, stripping and sealing floors. As the business grew I kept my job at the collage and also got a job cleaning the headquarters of British Airways on my weekends, which included learning how to use big, industrial style cleaning machines.

My boss there started to give me shifts in the week, so I would be at work for my business from 5:30 am, then go to the college job, then drive to Gatwick and be home by about 10pm daily! 9/11 was the end of my time at BA, leading up to it, my business had gained a very solid reputation for reliability and value. I grew the company to have 52 regular contracts and a full time member of staff as well as a second van by the time I was 21. Many of the jobs were daily, big blocks of flats which needed good attention to detail, reliability as well as the ability to solve any of the property managers needs and keep them informed of issues at the different sites.

A professional approach

The business was going well, I had left the college job, but it was at this time I got the travel bug! I handed the business over to my DAD and set off around the world! My company, M18 Cleaning Services still provides regular, reliable, quality cleaning of public ways in Peacehaven, Saltdean, Brighton, Hove and Worthing 01273 803 623.

After extensive travel and a University course in business studies, I started a new cleaning service which has developed to be what we offer here today at 555 Cleaning.

A professional approach, the best tools for the job, extensive knowledge of the cleaning industry, but most importantly, clear expectations, reliability and convenience for the customer in very well-defined service areas.