Leigh cleaning firm eyes service expansion following NPIF II investment
Revive Clean, a Leigh-based cleaning business specialising in student accommodation, residential and commercial cleaning, has secured a £25,000 loan from the NPIF II – GC Business Finance & River Capital Smaller Loans, which is managed by GC Business Finance on behalf of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).
The funding boost will allow the company to expand its operations, invest in marketing and create new local opportunities.
Founded by partners Shannon Donoghue and Tom Jackson, Revive Clean has been trading for three years and has grown from a two-person venture into a fast-expanding cleaning provider serving customers throughout Wigan, Greater Manchester and beyond. The pair met in Manchester and initially worked within Tom’s family cleaning business, before combining their management experience and launching their own successful cleaning company.
Revive Clean was created to offer a flexible, year-round cleaning solution. The business experiences a peak in demand over the summer months as students move between accommodation, while winter operations focus on cleaning of communal areas, serviced accommodation, and carpet and hard-floor cleaning.
In its early years, Revive Clean took on subcontracting roles before securing its own direct student accommodation contracts. However, long payment cycles, rising staff costs and the need for upfront investment made cashflow increasingly challenging. After meeting Alison Darkes from GCBF at a local business event, Shannon and Tom began exploring funding options to help stabilise and grow the company.
The £25,000 NPIF II loan has enabled Revive Clean to invest in advertising, secure year-round staff and build the capacity needed to take on bigger projects. It follows an additional £10,000 Start Up Loan, also from GC Business Finance and secured around the same period, marking the business’s first experience of external funding.
The business now plans to grow its commercial cleaning portfolio, target larger contracts in Manchester and Liverpool and secure more year-round work to support ongoing local job creation.
Shannon Donoghue, co-founder of Revive Clean, said: “Last year was incredibly stressful for us as a small business. We were growing quickly but didn’t have the cashflow to match it, especially across the summer season when we take on lots of staff. Working with Alison made such a difference – she really took the time to understand our situation, and once we started the process with her, everything felt straightforward and supportive. The NPIF II funding has been vital. It allowed us to keep our team in place, invest in marketing and make sure we always had enough work coming in. It’s taken a huge pressure off and given us the confidence to grow.”
Alison Darkes, investment manager at GC Business Finance, said: “Shannon and Tom have built Revive Clean from the ground up and their commitment to their community and their staff really stands out. The business is ambitious, resilient and rooted in the local area. It’s great that NPIF II funding has helped them secure new contracts, expand their services and continue creating job opportunities for local people.”
Sue Barnard, Senior investment manager at the British Business Bank, said: “It’s encouraging to see a young North West business using NPIF II funding to scale up sustainably. Access to early-stage finance can be critical for small firms navigating rapid growth, and Revive Clean is a great example of how this support helps create jobs, stimulate local economies and break down barriers to finance.”
The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.
The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.