Principle Group Services Limited is a market leader in providing corporate, commercial cleaning in London. The company provides its core services – building, window, specialist and data centre cleaning – to some of the capital’s most prestigious and iconic buildings. It operates in a vast range of sectors, contracting with owners, landlords and property managing agents.

Principle Cleaning Services was London’s first employee-owned cleaning company.

The combination brings together two culturally aligned, employee-owned organisations with a shared focus on empowering teams, building long-term partnerships, and delivering positive social impact through responsible business. Churchill’s employee-owned structure was a key factor in Principle’s decision to join the group and merge with Portfolio, ensuring its people remain central to future success.

Churchill Contract Services Limited is a UK‑based group of specialist businesses in the facilities management sector, covering cleaning and hygiene, security and safety, and place and environment, to public and private sector organisations nationwide, with a focus on high‑quality service delivery and operational excellence.

Daniel Wright, Corporate Finance Director at Barnes Roffe said:

“From the start of the process we could see the fit with Churchill. Tom, Dave and the rest of the Principle team have a fantastic business that, being part of an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) and transitioning to another EOT with Churchill will allow the continued empowerment of its staff by creating a real powerhouse in the commercial cleaning space.”

Tom Lloyd, CEO of Principle Group Service Limited said:

“It was a pleasure to deal with the team at Barnes Roffe. Their expertise and guidance were incredibly valuable throughout the process.”

James Bradley, Group CEO of Churchill Group said:

“Principle has been a respected name in our sector for decades. What immediately stood out was the cultural alignment between our two businesses, our shared focus on people, on doing the right thing, and on building meaningful client partnerships. Bringing Principle into our employee-owned group means we can create even greater opportunity for our teams and deliver an even stronger specialist service for our clients for the long-term. This is two of London’s best cleaning providers coming together to become something even better.”

Douglas Cooke, Executive Chairman Principle Cleaning, added:

“Building Principle over the past 37 years has been an immense privilege. From the very beginning, we centred our work on people, the colleagues who brought their expertise and dedication, and the customers who trusted us to care for their environments.

As we looked to the future, finding the right home for Principle mattered deeply. Churchill’s commitment to people, quality, and employee ownership aligns completely with the values on which Principle was built. Their specialist focus and their culture make this a natural and positive next step.

Seeing two employee-owned businesses coming together is also really exciting for me and gives me real confidence in the path ahead.”

Legal services were provided by Hamish Perry and the team at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP.