The carpet cleaning businesses we sell are mostly owner-run carpet and upholstery cleaners selling their vans, machines, repeat customers, landlord and commercial accounts and the online reviews that bring in new work.
Recent sales and businesses under offer. We keep every business anonymous, so names and towns are left out and the photos are for illustration. New instructions go to buyers on our register before they are advertised anywhere else.
Carpet, upholstery and deep-cleaning for 185 commercial and domestic customers, 9 years trading with 6 staff and 3 vans. Strong reviews and repeat hotel and property-management work brought 13 enquiries and 3 offers, and a local cleaning operator adding the service paid cash on completion.
They usually sell for roughly 1.5 to 3 times a year's adjusted profit, meaning profit with the owner's own pay added back, with the equipment either included in that price or valued alongside it. The price rests mostly on how much work comes back each year without advertising and how much of it depends on the owner personally.
A typical sale includes one or more vans fitted with portable or truck-mounted extraction machines, upholstery and rug cleaning kit, stocks of chemicals, the customer database with past job dates and prices, accounts with letting agents, landlords, care homes or offices, and the website, phone number, booking system and online reviews that generate enquiries. Repeat household customers usually come back on a cycle of a year or so, while letting agents and landlords supply end-of-tenancy work through the year, so a business with a strong base of both has steadier income than one living mostly on new enquiries from paid advertising.
This table shows the main areas a buyer should look at, what to ask the seller for, and what each one tells you.
| Area | What to ask for | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Repeat work | Customer list with dates of each job over the last two or three years | How much income returns each year without advertising |
| Trade accounts | Letting agent, landlord and commercial accounts with yearly spend | Whether any single account is too large a share of turnover |
| Enquiry sources | Where new jobs come from and what the owner spends on advertising | Whether profit relies on paid adverts you will need to keep funding |
| Equipment | Age, service history and machine hours of vans and extraction units | What you will need to replace and when |
| Finance | Any hire purchase or lease agreements on vans and machines | Whether debts must be cleared or taken on at the sale |
| Reviews and website | Logins for the website, domain, phone number and review profiles | Whether the online reputation can be moved to you intact |
| Staff | Any technicians, their pay and how long they have stayed | Whether work can carry on if the owner steps back, given that employed technicians move to you under TUPE in an asset sale |
| Insurance | Public liability cover and claims history for damage to carpets and furniture | Whether there are disputes or complaints that could follow the business |
Most carpet cleaning businesses are owner-operated, so they are priced on adjusted profit and often sell for roughly 1.5 to 3 times that figure, which for a business making £40,000 of adjusted profit points to somewhere between £60,000 and £120,000. Whether the vans and machines are included in that price or valued on top should be agreed at the start, since a nearly new truck-mounted unit is worth a great deal more than a tired portable machine. Buyers pay towards the top of the range for a large base of repeat customers, steady landlord and commercial accounts, strong reviews, a technician who can run jobs without the owner and well-kept equipment, and towards the bottom where most work comes from paid advertising or the owner is the only person who knows the customers.
Many buyers use their own cash for most of the price, with the seller taking part of it over an agreed period after the sale, known as deferred consideration, which keeps the seller interested in passing on customers and accounts smoothly. Vans and machines can sometimes be refinanced through asset finance, and larger businesses can be funded with bank lending on ordinary terms or under the government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme, where the lender receives a partial government guarantee and you remain fully responsible for repaying the loan.
The most valuable parts of a carpet cleaning business to move across carefully are the phone number, website, domain name and review profiles, since these bring in the enquiries, and losing access to any of them can cut new work sharply in the first few months. We also recommend that the seller works alongside you for an agreed period, introduces you personally to letting agents, landlords and commercial accounts, shows you how they price and treat different fibres and stains, and sends a short letter to regular customers explaining the change of owner.
We send registered buyers an anonymous summary first, share the name and sales pack once you agree to our confidentiality terms, arrange a meeting and a ride-along day with the owner, take your offer to the seller and stay involved until the money is paid. Carpet cleaning businesses are often bought by cleaning companies adding a service and by first-time owners, so register as a buyer with your area and budget and we will contact you when something suitable comes in. You can also browse all cleaning businesses for sale, look at domestic cleaning businesses for sale, or read our guide to buying a cleaning business.
Owner-run carpet cleaning businesses often sell for roughly 1.5 to 3 times a year's adjusted profit. A business making £40,000 of adjusted profit would usually be priced between £60,000 and £120,000. Whether vans and machines are included should be agreed at the start.
Sometimes, and sometimes they are valued separately, so check each listing and confirm it in the heads of terms. Ask whether there is any hire purchase or lease outstanding, since that debt has to be cleared or taken on. A machine's age and service history affect what it is worth.
They can, and they should be listed in the sale contract as part of what you are buying. The seller needs to transfer the phone number, domain, website and review profiles into your control at the handover. Losing any of them can cut new enquiries sharply.
Yes, as long as the seller agrees to train you and work alongside you for an agreed period. Carpet and upholstery cleaning involves real skill with different fibres and stains, and mistakes can lead to claims. Good training and public liability insurance protect you while you learn.
Then much of the value sits with the owner, and the price should be at the lower end of the range. Ask for a longer handover with the seller introducing you to every regular customer and trade account. Linking part of the price to customers staying after the sale is a sensible protection.
Buyers on our register hear about new listings before they are advertised.
