Mark Howarth and James Kitwood were looking for inspiration and then they found Dublcheck

Dublcheck franchisees co-owner Mark Howarth and James Kitwood worked in the cut-throat world of retail fashion in Leeds for 20 years manufacturing garments for major blue-chip retailers.

Working an average 40-hour week initially that quickly became a 70 hour week. Mark and James could no longer spend quality time with their families and when coupled with the gruelling travel schedule, both ended up with the same thought; something had to change, and we need some inspiration!

A visit to the British Franchise Exhibition in 2009 led to that moment of inspiration. James explains: ‘In front of us was an array of different opportunities. Up and down the aisles, a discussion here, goodie bag there but none of them exactly right until we stopped at the Dublcheck stand.’ 

During the 2-hour drive back home Mark and James discussed what they had seen at the exhibition. Business after business was ruled out until they got to Dublcheck. After weighing the pros and cons between their current role and what Dublcheck offered both men came to the realisation that a Dublcheck Commercial Cleaning franchise might in fact be what they were looking for. ‘It was UK based, it was relatively recession proof. It was a basic business concept that was easily scalable and most importantly of all it was backed by the support of an established franchisor, and that was something that really appealed to them.

Fifteen years on from their initial introduction to Dublcheck where their annual turnover figure now stands at £950K, Mark and James have been lucky enough to shift the work life balance back in the right direction. Both men agree they credit the turnaround in their fortune to a simple credence: ‘That maintaining and developing the relationship with our customers retains long-term business.’